#i'm going to add to this later once i've recovered

[castlescrumblingdvwn]

dunki spoilers !!!!!

so i watched dunki today and when i say i'm an emotional wreck right now, even if only internally so (because of course).

manu's (and hardy, because it's impossible to talk about their stories without mentioning the other) arc especially is what i think left me feeling so heavy— she left her home to 'build' one, went through hell to get to london and when she finally does, she is faced with the bleak reality of being an illegal immigrant there, she ends up parting ways with hardy, they live all those years apart but still yearning for each other, yet when she finally unites with the one person who had given her the respect she wished for, the one who'd loved her so dearly and so had she, she barely has any time left. and passes away right after hardy proposes to her, which in itself only happened after so many years.

it's just so... sad to think about, and hardy's words to manu at the end— that the real dunki was those years he had to spend alone in india, away from manu. he was 'home', yet his true home lay somewhere else, in someone else, how could he possibly be happy? the same goes for manu. she wanted to earn enough for her family, her home, but lost herself in the process, in ways more than one. the one silver lining that remains amidst all this tragedy is that at least she got home and was reunited with hardy for one last time before her passing, </3

[yelenasdiary]

Forbidden || Chapter I - Welcome To Blisswater

Pairing: Yelena Belova x Bishop! Reader.

Summary: Just outside of the small town of Blisswater, lives two young sisters, Kate & Y/n Bishop. It's hard not to know who the Bishops are, Kate is the eldest by a year. She is a beautiful young woman, smart, protective and is known to have a talent in using a bow. Y/n, she is shy but quiet as some would say but nevertheless, she holds her own talents and can often be seen tending to the animals of Bishop Ranch. One evening while Kate is out hunting to make some money, Y/n is surprised with an unwanted guest, Yelena Belova. A bounty Hunter from Drybellow who has taken shelter in the young Bishop's barn after being wounded from a gun fight.

Struggling to keep money following, Y/n has no choice but to take the bounty hunter's offer of $5 a day if she is able to help the woman recover. During Yelena's stay, the two grow closer, a little too close if the wrong pair of eyes were to see them.

| No Warnings, I don’t think? | 3.6K |

Forbidden Masterlist

"I'm leaving Lucky here with you" Kate, my older sister said as she entered the dining room, "I'll be gone for a least two days at the most. Will you be okay to handle things here?" she asked. A few, long months ago, our parents went on a business trip and are yet to return. Kate and I have been left to run the ranch and keep money flowing until they return, although we haven't heard from them, not even a single letter. My worries for them are endless. "Of course, I will be" I smiled before taking a mouthful of the porridge I made for us. 

"Do you need anything from town before I go?" she asked while putting her bowl in the sink for me to wash later, "no, I think we have everything we need. Just be safe, please" I looked to her. "Always, rabbit" she smiled. Kate has always called me rabbit, ever since we were younger. It comes from when my adult teeth were still coming through, they reminded her of a rabbit's front teeth when they would nibble on their food. "I'm just going to go get Arrow saddled up then I'll be on my way" she added before walking out the back door.

I'm used to Kate leaving for a day or two, she goes off hunting for us while I tend to the ranch. We have 3 cows, 5 pigs and 6 sheep! All of which have names of their own, of course. I've been saving some money to buy a couple of chickens so we can have our own fresh eggs. My father said we'd get some but that was before he and mother left on their trip. Today seems like it will be an easy day, feed the animals then off to the general store for my shift. 

"Alright, you know the rules" Kate spoke as she returned from saddling up Arrow, "father's rifle is in the case under your bed and please, don't let any of those wandering men stay too long! You can't trust everybody just because they say they've had a long day" she adds. "Yes, I know! You don't need to remind of that every single time, it was just once. Besides, Mr Lang has some very interesting stories to tell" I replied. I wish Mr Lang would return; his stories were almost unbelievable. 

"I guess I don't need to remind you to get some more coffee and canned peaches after your shift then?" Kate rolled her eyes at me as she tucked a few canned goods into her saddle bag. "You just did" I replied, sarcastically. "Let's go Lucky! We don't want to be late" I patted my right thigh after placing my used bowl in the sink for laters problem. "Hey!" Kate stopped me just as I was leaving the kitchen, "be safe, okay? If you need anything Mr Barnes is only a call away" she reminds me, again! 

We have a bell that Kate brought, it's rather large. I am to ring it if I'm in any trouble and Mr Barnes, the Salon owner, will come over and see what the matter is. Im not exactly sure how he's able to hear the ringing sound from so far away, we've done a couple of test runs and so far I haven't had the need to use it. 

"Yeah yeah, how about you be safe? I can't do everything around here if you go missing too!" I smiled softly at my older sister, she knows I'm joking. If anything were to happen to her, she knows I'd be okay…I guess. 

Lucky follows me around everywhere, especially when Kate goes off on her hunt. He'll come to the general store and wait outside by the door until I've finished my duties. Mr Wilson doesn't mind, he loves Lucky and even asked Aunt May to bake some of her famous cookies that everybody in town loves, she makes a little extra and dog friendly ones for Lucky. Everybody calls her Aunt May, not really sure why though, I think it's because she's such an aunt to everybody. Almost like a grandma that cooks everybody's favorite treats for the tea party.

The walk to town is always peaceful. In the warmer seasons, it can be rather hot but on days like today when the sun is just starting to peek over the mountains from afar, the wind isn't too cold and the birds sing their morning song, it's relaxing and maybe I tend to take smaller steps just to soak up the morning fresh air before I stay inside for most of it. 

"Good morning young Y/n!" A rather tall and very muscular man smiles to me, it's Thor. Nobody actually knows why his name is Thor, considering it's a very unusual name but he's very lovely. "Good morning, Thor! Keeping well I see" I replied with a friendly smile as Lucky and I slowly make our way past the Salon. "Oh, you know me! Can't resist the great liquor that is served here" the most likely drunken man chuckles. It's barely 7am and he is drinking. I guess that's a hobby for most people around here. 

Blisswater isn't a town for much entertainment, you have your basics. The Saloon ran and owned by Mr Barnes, the General store ran and owned by Mr Wilson, the doctors office with the only doctor within miles, Mr Banner. The gunsmith, Mr Barton owns and supplies Kate with discounts on arrows and sometimes ammunition for us. Mr Fury is the towns barber, my father wasn't a fan of him but when he was desperate for a cut, he had no choice but to see him. Then there's Sheriff Rogers, T'Challa the friendly banker, Peter the newspaper boy (by the way, he's love for me isn't exactly a secret!) and Mr Quill is the towns blacksmith. 

So that's all there really is to know about who lives in and around Blisswater, it's a small town. A town where everybody knows everybody, and word travels faster than you can blink! We all look out for each other here and most don't take kindly to newcomers. Sometimes we have outlaw gangs come passing through, they spend the night at the Saloon, get drunk and make a mess of themselves before pushing on by the afternoon. The walk-through town the following morning is usually a sight of Mr Barnes boarding up the windows of the Saloon from their drunken fights. 

The bell rings loudly as I open the door of the general store, and I'm greeted with Mr Wilson's warm and welcoming smile. "Good morning, Mr Wilson!" I smiled. 

"Please, Y/n, call me Sam! I've known you long enough" he chuckles before reaching down behind the counter for the plate of Aunt May's famous cookies. 

"I'm sorry, it's habit! I see Aunt May has come early this morning" I wandered up to the counter taking one delicious treat. "Lucky's biscuits are back here as well; did you bring him this morning?" Mr Wilson, I mean, Sam asked. "Of course! Kate is out today and left him all to me" I took a small bite out of the homemade goodness. "Parents off again?" he questioned, I nodded lightly. I miss them so much. 

"Well, I've got the perfect job to keep your mind distracted. How about you watch the store today?"  

"Alone? Me? Are you sure?" I asked with a mouth full of cookie. 

"Yeah, I have a couple of things that need my urge attention. I wasn't going to open today but I think you're ready for this. What do you say? You can even bring Lucky inside if you want" Sam smiled proudly. I thought about it for a moment while I finished my morning treat, it can't be that hard, right?

"Sure! I can hold the fort as they say" I replied with a smile, wiping the crumbs from my lips with the back of my hand. 

"I'll be back before closing, earlier I can. If you need anything, slip out the back door. I don't need to tell you this, I know" he chuckled, "Bucky will be around if you need anything" he assures me. I guess that's the handy thing about having your store next door to a saloon. "You're starting to sound like Kate!! I'll be fine, I have Lucky! What's the worst that could happen?" I raised a brow. 

"Right" my boss smirked, "well you already know where the stock deliveries are, and you know your main duties. Just don't leave the store unattended" he reminds me, I playfully rolled my eyes at him as he stepped away from the counter. "Stop stressing, Sam, the store will be fine. Go do what it is that you need to do" I hoped the door, patting my thigh for Lucky to enter.

Mr Wilson left as Lucky made himself welcome in the store, I closed the door and treated Lucky to his own biscuit before starting to restock the shelves. 

——

"Good afternoon, Y/n!" A familiar voice sings louder than the bell as the door fly’s open. "Peter! How are you?" I smiled softly as I was greeted with a smile of his own. "Oh you know how it is, busy busy!" He chuckles, "I ran into Mr Wilson earlier, he mentioned you were here alone today so I thought I'd come by and see if you, uh, needed anything" he adds. A hint of red fills his cheeks while his eyes struggle to stay connected to mine. 

It's no secret that young Peter Parker has a crush on me, the entire town knows it. Although he is a very sweet young gentleman, I guess I've just never found myself interested in him in a romantic manner. In fact, I've never really thought about anybody in a romantic manner now to think of it…

"You're very sweet, Peter. Thank you but things are pretty good. I've had no troubles today and please, thank your Aunt May for the cookies and Lucky's treats!"

"Oh, you're welcome! You know Aunt May, always baking" Peter chuckles once more. I could sense a hint of nerves in his voice and the redness in his cheeks grew deeper. "Peter, is everything okay? Do you need a drink? Some water?" I asked with a concerned frown. "No, no. I'm more than fine, thank you. It's just, it's getting a bit wild out there and I thought I'd walk you home later when you're finished here. Don't want you getting sick or anything" he gives me another soft smile. 

"It's meant to rain?" My frown only grew bigger as I looked out the window. Dark gray skys covered the town and beyond, distant flashes of lighting lit up the darkness for a moment. Wind blew the dry leafs onto the Main Street, horses stomped their hoofs with every crack of thunder that could be heard from the far, far distance. 

"Well shoot!" I sighed.

"Did Mr Wilson tell you when he'd be back?" Peter asked. 

"Sure hope it is soon, I have the animals I should move into the barn before the storm arrives" 

"It doesn't seem like it is far off. Maybe I could watch the store for you? I wouldn't mind at all" 

"You're very kind, Peter but I'm not sure if Mr Wilson would appreciate me leaving the store in somebody else's hands. I know you wouldn't ruin the place or steal from him but he is trusting me today and I don't want him to think otherwise" I explained as I watched the dark clouds darken, it'll be a big storm by the looks. 

"I'd be more than happy to make sure your stock is in the barn then" he offered, I turned to him and kindly shook my head. "I'm sure Mr Wilson will be back soon. Thank you again Peter, you're very kind. If you don't mind, there's a few things I should really get done before Mr Wilson returns" I smiled softly, hoping not to have hurt the boy's feelings.

"I plan on having supper at the Saloon, if you need me, I'll be there" Peter smiles before leaving the store. 

For the rest of the afternoon, I cleaned the store and did some stock take and made sure the store was exactly how Mr Wilson would like to have it when he returns and just my luck, he returns before the storm hammers down. 

"Y/n, thank you for all your help today!" He walks into the store, placing his hat on the  coat rack. He looked rather dirty; a nice bath would be in order for when he gets home if I didn't know better.

"You're welcome, Mr Wilson! I'm sorry to leave in a rush but I really need to be getting home before the rain starts" I grabbed my things, Lucky following closely behind me. 

"Of course, you best be safe now" 

I rushed out of the store, glad the rain hadn't started pouring down as yet but it was coming. You could smell it, the thunder got louder, the lighting got closer and the wind got stronger. The main street was quiet as people already began to make their way indoors until the storm pushed over. 

"Come on, Lucky! We haven't got much time!" I patted my thigh lightly before Lucky and I began to race home. 

——

The rain soaked the dry ground as expected and Lucky and I were able to get the animals into the barn before it came down heavy. I left a lantern in the barn just so I could keep an eye on it from the house, Kate hates when I do that, says it's a waste of resources but she'll thank me one day for it. 

"How long do you think she'll be this time Lucky?" I looked towards him as we both rested by the fire. He tilts his head at me as if he truly understands what I am saying. We listen to the rain dance on the roof and wind whistle outside while the fire cracks and keeps us warm. It's nights like this that I wish Kate wouldn't go off hunting, it's most lonely at night. But I know we need the money, just until mother and father come home.

"Come Lucky, let's check the barn" I stood up from my mothers rocking chair, and wandered over to the window. A frown creeps upon my brows when I notice the lantern, I left behind earlier in the night was gone. I rushed to my room and grabbed the rifle under my bed, grabbed my father's thick coat, a lantern and headed for the backdoor with Lucky right beside me. It was only a short walk from the house to the barn, but the rain was quick to soak me in its gift to the ranchers. Slowly, I pushed the large wooden door open, my rifle tightly in my grip. Lucky entered first, sniffing the ground for anything that didn't belong while I slowly followed behind him, one foot after another. 

Only a few steps in and I saw the lantern I had left behind, in the corner where Kate's horse would've been stabled. "Come out! I have a gun and I am not afraid to use it!" I called out, keeping my distance. Lucky walked quickly over to the empty stable slot, growling. "I said come out!" I repeated. 

"Don't shoot" a thick Russian accent came from the corner of the barn, "I won't hurt you, just call off the dog, please" the unknown voice added. 

"How can I trust you? You're a stranger in my barn! I have every right to shoot you" 

"Trust me, if I were here to harm you, you'd already be dead"

I took a few small steps closer to them, Lucky stood his ground and continued to growl. I wasn't going to tell him to back off just yet. "What are you doing here? Do you always just welcome yourself into other people's properties like this?" I asked. 

"You ask too many questions" the voice replied, "call the dog off, please" they asked once more. 

"Lucky, back!" I called once I laid my eyes on the intruder. A young woman, maybe no older than me. Blonde hair that was braided and she certainly didn't seem to dress how most women dress. Beside her was her gun belt and holster, her hat placed freely beside them. The woman was covered in blood, her right hand pressed tightly against her left shoulder. "You're hurt" you spoke softly while keeping my rifle pointed at her.

She chewed her bottom lip and nodded, "I'll be gone by morning, I just need a place to stay for the night"  

"How can I trust your word?" I asked. The woman smirked like I had just made a joke, an odd joke if my question was funny to her. 

"I know better than to kill a rich small-town girl" she replies causing me to frown at her words. 

"I am not rich girl. So, if you planned on robbing me later, you would find nothing, I can assure you of that" 

She chuckled, "well, maybe not rich but you are well off than others. Besides, I have no interest in robbing homesteads" 

"You know nothing about me" I snapped, pointing my rifle at her a little higher, aiming for her head. "Get off my property!" I demanded. Lucky growled once more, showing the unknown intruder his sharp canine teeth. 

"Maybe we could come to a deal. It seems money is a touchy subject to you, yes?" The blonde hissed in pain when she moved her right hand even the slightest inch. I didn't reply, my eyes were drawn to the amount of blood her hand was covered in. "I'll pay you" she spoke, gaining my attention once more, "$5 a day. If you help me. I'll give you the first three days right now if I could move my hand but as you can see, if I do that, I will bleed out" she offers. 

"Once I have recovered you will never see of me again, I give you my word" she adds. $5 a day would really help Kate and I and by the looks of her wound, she could be here for weeks. "I know you're thinking about it but I do not have time for you to think" her thick Russian accent brings me out of my thoughts, I nodded as I slowly lowered my rifle. 

"We best get you to the house then" 

----

"I'm sorry if that hurt" I spoke softly to the blonde as I bandaged her up, after pulling the bullet from her wound and cleaning the area with alcohol, she suggested cauterizing the wound with a lit candle. The smell of burning flesh is something I will never forget. "Don't stress, I've experienced worse" she looked to me with a soft smile. 

"How did this happen anyway?" I asked as I started to clean up the mess. I offered the woman my room until she was back on her feet, and I hoped Kate wouldn't have noticed when she came home. 

"Just a little miss understanding with an outlaw. I'm a bounty hunter" she informs me. 

"A bounty hunter? That's a little strange for a woman to be doing"

"Well, sometimes women just do a job better" 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. It's not often I meet women who aren't following the rules of society" My eyes dropped, I knew my comment offended her. 

"You should travel more; you'd be surprised on what or whom you might come across. What's your name?" She pulled the covers up over her, making herself comfortable on my bed. 

"Tell me yours and I'll tell you mine" I looked to her once more. She chuckled, "I'm Yelena, Yelena Belova. Your turn" she replies. I walked towards the bedroom door, my hands full of rubbish from cleaning her wound, "I'm Y/n, Y/n Bishop. I'll get you some water" 

"Bishop" Yelena repeated, "your father is Derek Bishop?" she questioned. I nodded slowly, "you know him?" I asked. Yelena shook her head, "no, just heard of him in passing. Water would be great, thank you" she watched as I walked out of the room. Her tone made me question if she was telling the truth; did she know my father? Maybe she knew where my parents were?

Lucky followed me to the kitchen, I grabbed two cups of water and returned to my bedroom, placing one glass on the wooden beside table next to my lantern. "You should get some rest; I'll make breakfast in the morning" I looked to Yelena who reached for her coat that sat at the end of the bed. "As promised, the first three days" she says before handing me $15 dollars in 1 ten-dollar bill and a 5 dollar bill. 

"T-thank you" I smiled softly, "do you like coffee? I could make some in the morning" I asked. 

"Never start the day without one" she smiled, "goodnight, Y/n" she added. 

"Goodnight" I walked towards the door, "oh, I hope you don't mind" I turned to face the blonde stranger once more, "I'm going to lock the door, you know…for safety" I added nervously. 

"I thought you would. I understand, I need to gain your trust" she nodded slightly. 

"If you need anything, just call out. I won't be far" 

"Thank you, again" Yelena smiled once more before I closed the door, making sure it was locked before making my way to Kate's room.

Taglist: @madislayyy | @riveramorylunar | @teganmiller | @kyleeservopoulos | @yelenaslyubov | @kacka84 | @lesbiarmy | @meurgen | @caporal-nino | @sl-ut | @scarletwidowblackwitch | @dogtamer415 | @mousetheorist | @flohouse46 | @boredandneedfanfics | @gemz5 | @randomnessbecausewhynot | @unicorniusfallapatorius | 

If you want to be on the taglist for this series, please see the masterlist. It's link at the top of this post.

[sstormyskyess]

A New Dynamic

author's note: so. this is my first a/b/o fic and uhh i've managed to make it trans! basically in my a/b/o universe people can switch their secondary gender with hormone therapy, just like with trans people and HRT irl, and reader in this fic transitioned from omega to alpha [idk if i explained that perfectly but! please enjoy and also feedback would be nice since i'm new to writing a/b/o]

cw: a/b/o dynamics, smut, male alpha reader, omega gaz, masturbation [from both reader and gaz], general awkwardness because they're exes, knotting

word count: 3500+ [i think this is my longest one shot i've written. uhh may have gotten carried away woops]

Kyle "Gaz" Garrick / M!Reader

“Kyle!” You run up to him with a big grin on your face, pulling him into a hug which he graciously accepts. You bury your face into his shoulder and he does the same, his hands holding onto your shirt as though you might fade away if he lets go.

It’s been almost five years since you last saw your best friend from secondary school and your lover up until he left for enlistment. To say you missed him would be an understatement. You’ve kept in touch with one another through letters and the occasional call here and there, but obviously nothing could compare to being face to face again.

All the way home, your hand is on his thigh and you tell him all about what’s been happening in your life recently. A new promotion at work, shenanigans during a fun night out with friends—friends who Kyle would have to say hello to as well—and some new hobbies you’ve picked up. He shared his own stories, though some of the details had to be axed because of their classified status. You were particularly caught off-guard by him recounting the time he fell out of a helicopter and nearly broke his spine, but that was neither here nor there. At least in his eyes.

Once you pull into the driveway and help him carry all his bags inside, he takes notice of something… interesting.  “Are you seeing someone right now, mate?” He asks with a tilt of his head.

You look at him, confused for a good few moments. “...No? Why?” He stares back at you, almost as if he didn’t believe you. “Is something up?”

It just doesn’t add up in his head. If you weren’t in a relationship with someone, then why did your house smell so distinctly of alpha? When he thought about it further, he did think something was off at the train station as well. He must’ve been distracted by his joy seeing you after so long, but thinking back on it, you had an alpha’s scent all over you. He must realize that he was looking at you as if you’d grown a third arm so he quickly shakes his head to recover from his stupor.

“You okay, Kyle?” You raise an eyebrow, equally confused as he is. Why would he assume you’re dating someone? That’s certainly something you would’ve told him before letting him stay at your place. It would be fairly awkward to have two omegas under one roof with you, especially when one of them was in a relationship with you and the other wasn’t. There was a definite possibility of… jealousy sprouting up.

“I’m gonna take my bags upstairs, just uh—gimme a sec.” He says quickly, picking up his stuff and heading up to the guest room he’s staying in for the next month. You stare after him, still left a little confused. You figure you can bring it up later. Maybe he was tired from jet lag or something. You check the time, your eyes widening a bit when you realize you missed your hormone injection, going upstairs to your bathroom and getting all your things ready.

By the time the sun set and you both had finished dinner, Kyle is still trying to rationalize what could possibly be the explanation behind the alpha scent wafting around the room and teasing his olfactory glands. It was almost making his head hurt with how enticing it was.

To be honest, you’re not faring any better. His scent never triggered anything in you when you were an omega, but now he just smells so sweet. You hope you’re doing a decent job of hiding the shuffling you’re doing to try and relieve some of the tension growing in your boxers. It would most definitely throw things off to get all riled up for someone you broke up with years ago. It was amicable between the both of you, of course, but it’s been so long since either of you had contact with each other.

You dwell on it a bit more all while trying to keep your attention on whatever TV show it was that he put on. Every time he tried to get more comfortable, though, he either squished your legs closer together or brushed up every so slightly against the bulge in your pants. You start to wonder if he knows what he’s doing. He had to, right? He couldn’t be doing this by accident.

Swallowing past the lump in your throat, you struggle ignoring the way your cock twitches in your sweatpants when he mutters something about how your couch is too lumpy and needs to be replaced before readjusting his legs and hips. His motions press your legs together and a shiver goes up your spine when the cloth of your boxers rubs up against your erection. You groan quietly and clear your throat when Kyle shoots a look your way. “You alright, mate?” He asks all too innocently.

You reach over to the end table to grab your glass of water with shaky hands, taking a long sip from it. “I’m fine.” Your voice is strained when you speak and you quickly set the glass back down before pulling a blanket over your lap as nonchalantly as you can manage.

You stare forward with unfocused eyes before you finally stand up, the intoxicating scent of sandalwood and vanilla permeating around the living room too much to handle. “I’ll—I’ll be right back.” You eke out, going to the downstairs bathroom in a hurry. You don’t see the concern on his face before you’re shutting the door and releasing a deep breath you didn’t know you were holding.

The moment you have your back against the cool tile on the walls, you’re doing everything you can to stave off what you can feel building up against your will. This couldn’t be happening, not now. You couldn’t be going into rut the very day your best friend was finally seeing you again after all this time. You palm at the bulge in your sweatpants, groaning as quietly as you can and tilting your head back against the wall.

Cursing under your breath, you begrudgingly yet desperately yank your pants and underwear down and take hold of your hard cock. You try taking deep breaths to stop yourself from losing yourself to the pleasure. It was so amplified by the remnants of Kyle’s scent that had seeped into your shirt just from him sitting next to him. It’s so much more powerful than it was earlier in the day, so you know your rut is coming.

You’re in there for a few more minutes than would’ve been normal, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to care when your cum spills all over your fist. It covers your fingers and your softening cock and deflating knot when you give yourself a few more pumps to ride out your orgasm. But it wasn’t enough. You regretfully give in to the fact you would have to turn in early for the night.

After washing your hand off in the sink, you head back to the living room and look at Kyle, who was on his phone, scrolling mindlessly. “Uh, Kyle? I’m gonna head to bed, I’m super tired.”

He sits up and turns to you, tilting his head. “Are you okay? What’s up?” He stands up and starts walking over to you until you put your hands up defensively. “Yeah! Yeah, I’m fine, I think I might be sick. I don’t wanna get you sick too, so I’m just going to bed.” You stumble through your weak excuse, voice cracking a bit when you neared the end of your sentence. You stare at each other for a few more moments before you turn away and rush up the stairs, closing your door a little more forcefully than you would’ve liked.

A couple hours pass and you’ve nearly pushed yourself to the brink of fainting with how many times you’ve brought yourself to orgasm. You’re glad that you had enough foresight to put a towel down before falling down the rabbit hole; if you hadn’t you would have to change your sheets before you went to sleep with how much cum you’ve expended.

Your chest heaves and sweat drips down your forehead. You’ve long since gotten rid of your clothes, now laid bare in the center of your bed. One thing you found after you transitioned from omega to alpha was that your ruts were much more intense than a natural alpha’s was. Your doctor told you it was something about the remnants of your omega biology making your ruts closer to heats.

The knot at the base of your cock was aching with how thick it’s gotten. The amount of blood rushing down there was making you lightheaded, but you just couldn’t stop. Your body won’t let you stop, you need to keep going. You feel like you might collapse in on yourself if you stopped for even a second.

But the muscles in your arm are tiring by the minute and your hand is starting to give out on you. Even thrusting up into your fist isn’t working because your fingers are cramping up from how hard you were squeezing your dick. You swallow thickly, already getting dehydrated, but you’d rather die than make a fool of yourself trying to stumble to the kitchen to get water—plus, Kyle didn’t need to know you went into a rut because of him. So, through all the brain fog, you remind yourself to listen for Kyle in his room to get you an opportunity to get a much needed glass of water.

You’ve long since given up on trying to stay quiet, deciding to forgo suppressing your wanton moans and desperate whines. Every now and then, shame builds up in your gut because Kyle’s name passes your lips, pleading for him despite the knowledge you shouldn’t want him so bad. But you want him anyway, and it almost made you feel too guilty to keep going. Almost.

Little did you know, Kyle’s in the guest room separated by just one wall, and he can hear everything. Every groan and huff and grunt. Every call of his name. And he has his hand in his pants, stroking himself with the same guilt that you’re feeling. He twisted his hand around his cock languidly, his palm closing around the tip with every few strokes.

When he walked past your room on the way to his earlier that night, he got the strongest whiff of your musk that he’d ever gotten, even when the two of you were in a relationship so many years ago. It all finally clicked in his mind at that moment.

He’s heard about people replacing their designation a couple times before, but he never expected you to be one of those people. Through his entire time knowing you, you never expressed any interest in that kind of thing. But quite honestly, he doesn’t care. All he knows is that you were going through a rut and God, did he want to be there to help you.

After he recovers from a couple quick orgasms and cleans up the mess as best he could, he gets up and deliberates for a bit. He could offer you some assistance, but imagine the consequences. He would never be able to live it down if he asked to help you with your rut and you turned him away point blank. The embarrassment would be too much. He sighs and gets himself together to at the very least get you some water.

He knocks on your door with a glass of water in hand a couple minutes later and hears you stumble off your bed with a harsh thud. “J-Just a sec!” You call out to him, trying to pull on a pair of sweatpants as fast as possible after wiping your sticky hand off on the towel.

When you open your door, your skin is practically dripping with sweat and your limbs are shaking just a bit. “Sorry, just, uh—tripped. Y’caught me off guard,” is what you’re able to muster up, but not without a voice crack in the middle. “What did you need?”

He looks almost as embarrassed as you do, with his eyes darting everywhere but you. “Um… I just thought I’d bring you some water.” He offers the glass to you and you take it, knowing at that moment that he’s heard everything you’ve been doing. Your teeth dig into your bottom lip nervously and you clear your throat, trying to stave off that ever-present feeling of guilt that settled in your stomach from the moment you got into bed. “Thanks. I appreciate it.” You mumble, looking at the floor.

The silence is awkward while you stand there in front of each other. You desperately urge the floor to swallow you whole to avoid the question you know he’s going to ask you, but instead you settle for broaching the subject yourself.

“Can you help me with—”

“Do you want me to help—”

You end up cutting each other off and you internally curse whatever higher power put you in this situation. They had to be out to get you at this point.

You shift from one foot to the other uncomfortably. Through all of this tension, your throbbing boner still hadn’t gone away. In fact, it was actually getting worse with Kyle standing barely a foot away from you, forcing his tantalizing scent to fill your nostrils and sending wave after devastating wave of desire through your body and straight to your cock.

He sees your fingers clinging to the door frame where you were holding it to keep yourself upright, the veins in your hand springing to the surface with how tightly you were grasping it. He puts a hand on your still bare chest, making your hairs stand on end from the skin on skin contact. “Here, just—go lay down, okay? You can barely stand, c’mon…” He takes the water from your hand and carefully herds you over to the bed, letting you collapse on it.

He could smell the sex in here; it was overpowering, making his pupils dilate and his mouth water. You pant with little huffs of breath looking up at him with glassy eyes filled with unbridled lust. “Kyle—fuck, please let me fuck you, please,” you groan.

He snaps out of the trance he got locked into from watching you slip your sweats down to let your cock spring free and land, heavy and dripping, onto your stomach. You reach for the waistband of his shorts, tugging on them. He gets the hint and pulls his shirt and bottoms off before climbing onto the bed and sitting on his knees.

You shakily roll over and wrap your arms around him from behind. You lean over him, urging him on all fours. He gasps when he feels your swollen, rock hard cock slide against his slick, wet asshole. Memories of how well you fill him come flooding back as though it was yesterday, sending a shiver down his spine. He mumbles your name and glances back at you when he notices you’ve gone rigid behind him. “Are you okay—”

He yelps when you spear him on your cock all of a sudden, sinking all the way to the hilt. You let out a deep, long moan at the feeling of his hole stretching to make room for you. “Shit—Kyle…” You drag out his name, burying your face in the space between his shoulder blades. “You feel so good, so so good,” you babble on, halfway incoherent with his name on your lips over and over.

Kyle reaches back and rests his hand on your shoulder, trailing it up to pet along the back of your neck and eliciting a pleased grumble in the pits of your chest. You rock your hips back and forth ever so slightly, working him open to make room for your dick for a while. He moans at the way one of the ridges of your cock rubs against his prostate over and over.

When you felt he was ready for you, you start to thrust into him properly, pulling out almost to the tip and then right back in slowly. “Y’feel good, love,” he says, a small quake in his voice and a small smile on his face.

Your lips connect to his neck, nibbling and sucking on his skin roughly, wanting to leave bruises that would last for a good while. You needed to make him yours. He accepts every mark you leave along his neck and shoulders, his smile growing the longer your cock dragged along his walls. You luckily managed to keep teeth away from where you last left your mark on him, narrowly avoiding the sensitive patch of skin.

You start to groan quietly, body shaking from the way you’re tensing your muscles and holding back. He takes notice of your reluctance and looks back at you, concerned. “What’s wrong?” He asks and you whine, your fingers starting to dig into the meat of his stomach where your arms were wrapped around him. “D-Don’t want… to hurt you, Kyle,” you pant, voice breathy. “Not gonna be able to stop myself…”

“You’re not gonna hurt me, love. Don’t hold back, it’s okay,” he reassures you with a soft voice, his tone releasing the tension in your body.

His words renewed the overwhelming desperation clouding your mind. You clench your teeth and, with a deep, rumbling growl, you speed up your pace and your thrusts become rough, merciless. He tosses his head back in surprise and moans your name sharply. The power of your hips slamming into him ends up pushing him face down and ass up, his face getting buried in the sheets.

His moans get chopped up in time with each time you pump your cock into his hole, his whole body getting jostled forward from the force you’re exerting. Goosebumps rise on his skin as your groans reverberate through your chest into his back and your shaft twitches against his walls, all the sensations overwhelming him. To ground himself, he lifts one of his arms up from where it had been laying uselessly by his side and reaches behind him to grab your shoulder.

Kyle feels his orgasm sneak up on him, having gotten lost in the pleasure of being with you again, but in so many new ways. “Shit, love—fuck—I want your knot baby, please,” he cries, tossing his head back. He never imagined he would be asking you for such a thing; you’ve had sex with each other many, many times before, but never like this. This was something else entirely, and it felt so, so good.

You groan in response to his words. You’ve never heard him so desperate before, and it fills you with a deep sense of confidence. It’s not as though you haven’t slept with anyone since splitting with Kyle, but something about him begging for you sent you into a frenzy.

He yelps at the sudden change in pace. You unintentionally forced him down into a prone bone position, your full weight on top of him and your arms pulling him into every thrust. Your teeth latch onto the back of his neck and scruff him with a growl. You vaguely register that you’re trying to say something despite your mouth being occupied, but you can’t find it in yourself to stop, no matter how embarrassing it might be later.

He shivers at the feeling of your saliva dripping down his neck and seeping into the bedsheets, joining the pool of his own drool where his mouth was hanging open from pure ecstasy. Your cock was hitting the perfect angle in this position, flat on his stomach and his legs pinned between your knees. With you on top of him it was easier to feel your swelling knot catching on the rim of his wet asshole. He slowly joins you in your mindless babbling, begging and pleading for you to give him that sweet release.

“I-I missed you so much, love, oh God—please, want you to fill me up, please, please, please—!” He wails when he cums, his spend getting caught under his body and wetting the sheets along with a wave of slick gushing out of his hole past your dick. It was the most intense orgasm he’s had in ages, all because of you.

The clutch of his walls fluttering around you makes you finally let go of his neck and throw your head back with a sharp groan. “Fuck—fuck!” You hiss, squeezing him tighter in your arms and shoving your knot into his tight, wet heat. Your cum floods his hole, filling him up to the brim. He sobs at the warm feeling. It felt so different with your knot added to the mix, stretching him wide.

You relax on top of him, with a heavy sigh, taking hold of him and rolling you both on your sides to spoon him and hold him close. You nuzzle your face in his neck, already rocking your hips into him again needily. It was gonna be a long night, he thinks to himself while running his hands up and down your forearms where they lay against his stomach.

𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

[clip-the-simp]

Not Much Else [Pt.1]

Ao3

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6

Pairing: Cooper Howard/The Ghoul x Fem!Reader

Word count: 2,956

Warnings: canon typical violence, swearing, mention of drugs and surgery, (I’m bad at warning tags so just let me know if I need/should to add some)

Tags: Mild Proofreading, reader had bat wings, Bounty Hunting, deviation from TV show, pre!show events(?), (Again I'm bad at tags so let me know)

Summary: You're a vault experiment that makes it to the surface. Quickly you learn the lay of the land and a few years later end up working the same bounty as The Ghoul. You convince him to let you take a long after having a feeling that you just had to follow him. Where will this story lead? Only time (and my motivation) will tell.

A/N: this is cringy as shit so please forgive me. I’m trying to get back into writing and my current hyperfixation is Fallout. I've been a fan for years but a new found love was sparked with the show's release.

Be forewarned that this is going to be incredibly inaccurate to cannon events and really unrealistic honestly. But listen. If Lucy can have her finger zapped back on and working properly anything can happen.

The scientists of your vault had placed nearly 200 hundred people into cryo pods before the bombs had fallen. A few had been scientists, but most were test subjects. Those chosen to be experimented on were chosen from a vast array of different medical histories, genetic makeups, ages, and ethnicities which always resulted in different mutations. Only about one third of the subjects had volunteered, while the majority had been simply manipulated, kidnapped, and or drugged before being shoved into a cryopod.

You had been one of the majority that had been kidnapped. Before the bombs, you had been a star in HollyWood and went on to be in several films which included a western or two. You were still fairly young however, so when the threat of bombs falling had started to rise you had been cornered. A white cloth with chloroform was shoved into your face once you had gotten back to your film trailer after wrapping up the final scene for a movie you were co-starring in. You had only woken up for a brief moment after being kidnapped, which was right before they had shoved you into a pod and began the process to preserve your body for the next century or so.

When the scientist decided it was time to start experimenting, some wouldn’t survive the first round of injections but that never did stop the test. Even after death the bodies would continue to be used to determine different severities of treatments on human tissue.

However, those that didn’t have the fortune of passing within the first few rounds of chems being forced into their veins, they had far worse ahead of them. Which just so happened to be the group of unfortunate folks you wound up being.

It had been about 175 years after the bombs dropped before they dethawed you from your cryosleep and started on their process of testing and modifying your body. They had hoped, just like with all of their other experiments they had running, that you would be one of their best.

After the first initial round of chems they had started to cut into you and spliced your DNA with multiple different creatures. First it started with the removal and rewiring of your eyes. They had been replaced with those of a feline which had taken you months to recover from, but that didn’t stop the minor test they continued to perform.

The rewiring in your brain caused excruciating headaches for the first few months but soon you were able to view things from a new lens. Being able to see more than most at night was a great perk to have when the vaults tended to stay poorly lit. However this also caused you to have some sensitivities to bright lights, so in response to that the scientist designed specialized goggles to combat it but made them so they wouldn’t impair your ability to see at night with them still being on.

The next body modification came when a scorchbeast, a large mutated bat creature, had been killed and dragged into the vault. After careful consideration and candidate evaluation you had been chosen to be subjugated to the experiment. No one knew if your body would reject the new muscle and bones that had to be implanted, but your genes had the most likely success rate when looking at the data provided.

After a full year of recovery you had full mobility of the limbs, and with it having been a young scorchbeast, the wings hadn’t been to terribly large in comparison to your body. You had been due for more body installments but before the scientist had the opportunity to stick another knife in you all hell had broken loose.

One of the more aggressive test subjects had escaped from their enclosure and started wreaking havoc upon the vault. They had managed to set other people free while in a blind rage when they had broken into the control room. In doing so not only where you set free but so where all the others, including those in cryosleep.

However you hadn’t stuck around for long once everyone, mutated or not, had started attacking one another in a panic. Having seen map layouts of the vault in the halls on the way to your surgeries, you had been one of the first to make it to the surface and begin your trick through the waste land.

After a week you had managed to find your way to a town which was both a blessing and a curse. Outside the walls of the town there had been a dead man who still had his clothes on. Having realized you were still in your medical gown, you had stripped him of the garments, minus the underwear, and cut a large hole in the back of the shirt to accommodate for your wings. With pants and a shirt on you were now a little more confident when entering the settlement.

Even after getting more than a hospital gown on, people still had given you strange looks as you walked the streets. They snarled and ogled at the wings sprouting from your back, and even after tucking them under your arms while pulling them close to your sides, it didn’t stop the stairs. Your goggles had remained pulled over your eyes during the majority of your time on the surface, but you could tell people could still see the slits that were your pupils.

You had quickly learned the ways of the waste land. Caps controlled everything, violence was always the answer, and it was kill or be killed. So when a man suddenly cornered you in the alley way of that first town you were in, you quickly became a killer. Whether it was the animal genetics fused with your own or your will to survive, you had proceeded to rip that man's neck out with your teeth when he had gotten close enough.

In doing so you had gained a handful of caps, a slightly rusted knife, and a pistol that had enough ammo to mow down a small horde of ghouls. The only item of clothing you peeled from his body was a weathered trench coat made of leather. That had managed to cover your wings if you kept them tucked close enough, although a bet awkwardly.

With the handful of caps you had gathered you had managed to get some accentals and learned about bounty hunting. If you were going to survive in the world you had to adapt, and so you did.

Two years had passed since you first began living on the surface when you had encountered The Ghoul, face to face, for the first time. Both of you had been working the same job when the target in question got smart and hired a few armed guards. The two of you were knocked unconscious and tied up in a rotting building while the target and his goons ran off. You had come to when the splitting pain from being knocked out finally became too much for your body to suppress.

As you peeled your eyes open, you started to realize someone was tied to your back as you and the other person sat on the sand covered floor of the decaying house. Shuffling a bet you tried to grab the knife at your side but soon heard a groan from the person you were tied to. You hadn’t bothered before to try and see who it was, hoping to have gotten untied from one another before they had the chance to wake up and possibly kill you.

“Fucking hell.” You heard the man mumble as he tried to get his bearings as you had. Your heart made its way to your throat as you realized who it was. Although you had never met the man you recognized his voice from the rare occasion you had been in the same town together at the same time.

Fuck fuck fuck! You thought as you continued, more hastily this time, to try and get the knife at your side. You had never paid The Ghoul much attention, however you know of his reputation and that he was a gifted gun slinger. However, while you hadn't paid him much attention, he had been studying you. He had started to recognize you any time you just happened to be in the same town. It wasn't anything more than the fact you were exceedingly odd and always looked out of place from those shuffling around you. Although he was a ghoul and the farthest thing from normal looking, your wings would always take any and all attention from those around you. No matter how well hidden you tried to keep them.

“Stop fidgeting damn it.” Your body immediately froze as he spoke directly to you. A few shuffles of his own and he quickly had his hands on his own knife which sliced through the rope with relative ease. You fell forward slightly as the tension from the rope was released and you quickly stood to dust yourself off.

Turning around you saw The Ghoul doing the same thing as he stood. His duster was ripped to shreds but still served its purpose of covering him from the sun. The cowboy hat he held in his hands was quickly placed back on his head before he turned to glare at you. His spurs jingled a little as he faced you.

Everything in your body screamed at you to run before he could pull out his weapon, but his gaze had you pinned to your spot in the room. You swallowed hard before trying to move and look more relaxed then you really were. Crossing your arms you moved your eyes to meet his which started an immediate feeling of regret.

There was something about his eyes that held a feeling of familiarity but it was buried under the many years of being forced to live amongst the harsh conditions of the wasteland. The Ghoul’s eyes remained on your face for the longest time before traveling to the tips of your wings that peeked out from under your coat. You quickly tried to tuck them closer to hide them but that just led to him looking back to your face.

“Now how the hell you get those on your back?” The Ghoul pointed to where the wings had been showing just moments before. His question had brought you out of your frozen state as you tried justifying to yourself answering him truthfully. You didn’t figure it would hurt to be truthful, especially since it was only the two of you at that moment. Not to mention the odd feeling that you could rely on him to keep any information you needed to get off your chest.

“Vault experiments.” You answered plainly as you moved the extra appendages from under your coat and spread them a little farther out from your body as you stretched them. As you did this something shifted in his expression, almost a kin to pity. He looked back into your eyes as if trying to recognize you as you had done the same to him moments before. You had forgotten the fact your eyes were no longer human so whatever search he was on would be nearly impossible if he intended to find answers within them. Not to mention the fact that your goggles were currently tented from the light coming in from the setting sun.

“That’s unfortunate. Seems like those wings would be in the way of everything.” He stated while picking up some of his belongings that hadn’t been taken. You crossed your arms and leaned on one leg. Sure, the wings were annoying at first, but they had become useful as time went on. You always managed to travel farther than anyone else in the wasteland could in two days on foot.

“They’re actually quite helpful.” You stated as you began to check yourself for any belongings that might be missing. “People don’t expect an aerial assault nowadays. So ambushing people is quite the luxury when being a bounty hunter.” The Ghoul gave a low hum as he slung his bag back over his shoulder. Surprisingly enough they hadn’t stolen anything, but you assumed it was because they were more focused on getting out of there before the two of you woke up.

“Well sweetheart I must be on my way. That bounty is still out there and I don't need someone else getting my caps.” As he said this The Ghoul slung his leg over the wall of the decrepit house and began his trek to the target. Something in the back of your mind pricked at your thoughts as he walked away. The feeling that you needed to follow him into the wasteland grew stronger the farther he walked.

What was it about this guy that had you wanted to do nothing more than follow him like a lost puppy? You hadn’t meant to be working the same bounty but somehow it felt like it was meant to be. Kicking yourself mentally, you sprinted after him. He had only managed to get a few yards away before you abruptly sprinted up behind him.

Out of instinct The Ghoul pulled his gun on you and had it aimed directly at your head. Your chest was rising and falling rapidly as you tried to catch your breath from the short unexpected run you just had. The adrenaline pumping through your veins prevented you from freezing or seeing the gun held to your face as much of a threat at that moment. All your mind was trained on was convincing The Ghoul to take you with him on this job.

“Take me with you.” Was all you could blurt out. Your voice had been shaky which you hoped wouldn’t be too noticeable but The Ghoul definitely caught it. He lowered his gun to keep it aimed at your chest instead.

“Now why should I do that?” He asked as he raised a nonexistent eyebrow. The sun was getting low which caused a shadow to shroud most of The Ghoul’s face. A knot began to form in your stomach. You hadn’t thought this through at all but had to come up with an excuse fast.

“I can be of help. Like I stated before, aerial assault isn’t something most folks are prepared to fight against.” That was practically the only key advantage you had on most other people. You had other talents, sure, but that was back up information in case the main appeal didn’t go through.

The Ghoul lifted his gun to tip his hat out of his face to get direct eye contact with you. His gaze fell and rose as he examined your form. It made you partly embarrassed as you pulled your wings in closer. He stood there and contemplated for a while until you broke the silence.

You grabbed the goggles from your face and sat them on top of your head. Your vision quickly adjusted to the new light exposed to your eyes. As The Ghoul looked back to your face you saw a bet of shock appear on his face before it was quickly masked again.

“Listen,” You started as your hands quickly began to fidget with one another. “I don't know why but I feel as if I’m supposed to go with you. If I had an explanation of why I would tell you but I don’t except for saying it’s a gut feeling.” The Ghoul’s expression stayed the same which quickly diminished your hope of joining him. Your eyes fell to the ground as you continued to speak.

“I don’t require caps or any sort of compensation for joining since I’m doing this out of complete and utter selflessness.” You were about to continue rambling before The Ghoul let out an exasperated sigh. Your attention brought back to his form. The Ghoul was pinching between his eyebrows as he holstered his gun. A few mumbles left his lips before his gaze finally settled back upon you.

“If you slow me down-” He started to say. You quickly cut him off as the realization that he was actually taking you along settled in.

“I won’t! I promise.” You said cheerfully as your wings slightly lifted from your sides. Your demeanor was probably a bit too cheerful though with how his expression changed.

“We’ll see if you keep that promise.” The Ghoul grumbled as he looked at the setting sun. It had nearly disappeared over the horizon which had put the world in a deep shade of purplish pink. It wouldn't be long before the sun was completely gone to leave the two of you in complete darkness.

However, that didn’t stop the two of you from traveling a bet that night. Your night vision was impeccable and The Ghoul had a lamp to guide his way. You stayed silent as did The Ghoul which hadn’t surprised you much. It had been about four hours of traveling before he finally spoke to inform you that it was time to siddle for the night.

[dindjarindiaries]

Welcome to my WORKS IN PROGRESS page! Here, you can find details on all the stories I'm currently planning or actively working on.

main masterlist • last updated: october 5, 2024

ACTIVE WIPS

What constitutes a WIP as "active?"

I currently have the document tab open and I've added to it in the last week or so.

I'm constantly brainstorming new ideas to add to it.

I plan on posting it within the next month.

untitled din djarin one-shot • din djarin x reader Things don’t go as expected when Captain Teva sets you up on a solo mission with his newly recruited Mandalorian mercenary, for better or for worse. → details: What happens when an X-wing pilot goes on a mission with a handsome Mandalorian?

broken wings (chapter 3) • hunter x reader You embark on your first mission with Clone Force 99, where you stay under a certain sergeant’s protective eye. → details: Birdie and Hunter keep getting closer even in the heat of action. What's Birdie willing to do for her new group of allies?

son of mandalore (chapter 1) • din djarin gen fic Din, after finally finding his covert, recovers from his wound and decides on his next steps. → details: This is my take on what I think TBOBF through The Mandalorian season 3 could have looked like! This one will be exclusive to AO3.

untitled tbb story (chapter 1) • the bad batch gen fic Tech wakes up on Eriadu and is surprised to find he is, in fact, alive. → details: TECH LIVES!!!!!!!!! This one will be exclusive to AO3.

INACTIVE WIPS

What constitutes a WIP as "inactive?"

I don't have a document made and/or open for it and I haven't been actively working on it.

I still plan on working on it later on.

I haven't finished planning out all the details yet.

untitled tbb/din djarin story (chapter 1) • tbb & din djarin gen fic Clone Force 99 arrives to their mission on Aq Vetina just in time to save the small vilage's sole survivor: a young boy named Din Djarin. → details: What if Din was saved by the Bad Batch instead of the Mandalorians? Get ready for some perfect chaos amongst Clone Force 99, especially once Omega joins.

untitled hunter one-shot • hunter x reader When you, a Jedi, and the leader of your elite clone squad are tasked with going undercover together as a couple, repressed feelings begin to bubble to the surface. → details: Fake dating with a TWIST!

scarlet trail (part one) • din djarin x reader Now that you're actually married, you and Din decide to go on a well-deserved honeymoon with your old covers, just to find yourselves caught up in yet another risky mission. → details: This is the sequel to Bloodlust! ↓ take a look at the cover!

everything i needed • din djarin x reader Din seeks help from your Sorgan host, Omera, to find out how to confess his feelings for you. → details: This is Din's POV on Everything I Wanted.

spring • frankie morales x reader You spend the spring season falling in love with Frankie. → details: This is the final follow-up to my Seasons one-shot mini-series that I started four years ago!

main masterlist

[kurithedweeb]

can I ask what's "drop of sunlight" abt?

Absolutely you can, and thank you for doing so!!

Drop of Sunlight is the first work in my greater Minecraft Diaries rewrite series called Doomed By A Narrative, and will recount the story from Garroth's point of view from pre-canon to post-canon. Each following story, a few of which I've mentioned before like Loyalty of Memory and Spirit of Sin would be in the same vein with various different characters.

A lot of changes are being made to the world in which DoS takes place (including a full pantheon of gods worshiped prior to the Divine Warriors, several new countries, a whole cast of side characters from the rest of the aphverse and in-depth exploration of backstories of the main cast) so the story will end up very different to canon but I'm hoping to hit most of the main plot points. So much has been changed in fact that I'm currently rewriting the first chapter a third time so we start much earlier than the night Anastasia (the Shard of Irene became the MCD version of Aphmau) first appeared in Phoenix Drop and can lay some groundwork.

In DoS as it is currently being written, we start before Garroth falls into the responsibility of being commander of the Phoenix Drop guard. Zenix is in the middle of recovering from the wounds he had when Garroth first found him in the forest, and Garroth takes him on as his apprentice when his commander tells him something has to be done about his boy. Though he's spent a few years here, Garroth doesn't feel particularly at home in the guard. He stumbles into becoming head guard when the Lord is killed and shortly after his commander disappears, leaving the entire guard off-balanced and increasingly afraid as the people of the village begin blaming the guard for both the death and disappearance, and he does everything he can to keep the village together as it declines even though he never wanted to be in any position of power like the way he practically reigns now ever again. He's basically head guard and lord for an entire year, and as the cold starts to set in for the coming winter a maiden who speaks and acts oddly appears at the edge of town one stormy night, claiming to have been chasing a man, and in the morning all signs of both are gone. Garroth tries to continue business as usual, eventually Anastasia starts living in town instead of dipping in and out like she's the local cryptid, and from there we'll try to find a path between the main plot points.

I also like to add moments from canon that are minor or cast aside, like Garroth chasing Vylad in S1E1 and Brendan startling Aph into eating zombie brains, and NPCs like Kent the Guard who I'm sure no one will remember because he is not one of the Minecraft Comes Alive NPCs that become characters later on, whose hand I cut off because he was once involved in a fight with zombies. So sorry, Kent.

There is so much I want to do with Drop of Sunlight and the series overall, more than I think I could put in just this ask, and I'm so excited to see where it ends up!

I am aiming for magical realism or high fantasy, and I will warn you now that I am not going to be gentle with this story. Injuries will not be pretty, wars will be written out more or less in full (you can read Wagers of War here, which is actually an AU of Drop of Sunlight, for an idea of what that'll be like), and the politics and relationship drama and the idea of personal faith being turned on oneself as a weapon will run throughout.

If you have any questions about specific characters, aspects of worldbuilding or scenes please do ask, I will yap about this for ages if given half a chance.

[homosexualasstransbian]

Alright so as per request, here's a post about my rimworld colony, which is currently recovering from a cold snap.

this is the current state of it, i play with a load of the Vanilla Expanded mods, i'll add the modlist in later, they're all outdated by now i'd assume since i downloaded them like, many months ago.

So to start off, i went with Ariadne Archduchess for my storyteller, basically, the higher your wealth the more she chooses to fuck with you, that is if i understood her storyteller profile right, and the difficulty setting is adventure story.

Ereal is currently, probably my strongest pawn.

Mechanitor that also has really strong psycasts and a shooting skill of 12, which is i think the highest any of the pawns have, but my memory might be very bad.

As for the psycasts, i have the vanilla expanded psycast thingy, which means i can choose them and the psycasters level up by meditating a bunch, so now Ereal has the resurrect psycast, and also a couple lightning psycasts. Luxemburg, my dear friend Luxemburg, has got regrow limbs which helped a lot, since i had a massive component shortage and couldn't make prosthetics for missing limbs, and also makes resurrect infinite, since you have to sacrifice a finger to resurrect someone, but regrow limbs y'know, regrows the limbs.

Minnie is also a psycaster, went with the Empath and Archon route, which means at some point i'll get to do mindbreaks with her <3

Sheyon and Rush were people i got from the "wanderer joins" event, and Tetraquart is a kid that was born very recently, from parents Hitomi and Roubel.

I think The Fabulous and Amira were from the cryptosleep casket in the ancient danger, Theo, Hitomi, Stomp, Vector, Reinald, Roubel, Pokeek and Penelope are all former prisoners.

Sass was a kid that i bought from a trader, i decided to recruit him instead of keep him as a slave, he's currently the 2nd best planter in the colony, after Jacaranda, which is a phytokin offshoot that eats wastepacks and can plant polux bushes. Jacaranda is also bonded with a guaranlen tree.

As for how Jacaranda joined, it was a charity quest where we had to save her from some bandits. That's pretty much it for the colonists, i think the only thing i might've omitted was that Sass and Stomp are Saurids, Sheyon is an Yttakin and Hitomi is a dirtmole.

Now to the Ideoligion of these bitches:

The narrative was just randomly generated, but i think it's decent so here ya go:

And the precepts are:

I haven't gotten any of the relics yet, but i'm planning to get around to that once i set up a genetics lab.

Speaking of genetics.

I have this funny little thing called an Archowomb, which if i do some silly genetics stuff with, i could make an archocentipede, which is, from what i've heard, really fucking strong. Can't wait to get around to that.

For animals, i've got some horses, very useful for expeditions, i have 2 megasloths tamed, and some muffalo + sheep for their wool.

Food, and plants in general: i have like 3k human meat stored, very useful for meals. I have 10x10 planting zones for carrots, green beans, corn, bell peppers, rice and potatoes, 5x5 fields for sunflowers, psychoid plants, smokeleaf plants and some healroot, plus a much bigger healroot field because i was running really low on medicine.

another 10x10 for canola flowers, it's how i keep my colony running, very good for making chemfuel, and chemshine also is quite nice.

and a bigger field for cotton, because i gotta get that cloth somehow.

and da stats for this colony are:

As for stories for this one, i think the only interesting one was that time a mechhive raid dropped right into the fucking food freezer during a components shortage and almost made the entire colony starve.

[anjumzm]

Midsummer Night

A Legacy of Gods Fanfic

JerCes Daughter x LanMia Son

Chapter 15

Theodore Sokolov King

I knew this day would come, but not this soon. Although I had all my ducks in a row, I hadn't expected Abazi to make his move so... recklessly. He'd spread rumors that had caused our stocks to plummet. It also impacted the deals we'd almost sealed, making our partners skeptical. If I wanted to save myself and my cousin brothers from Grandpa Aiden's wrath, I had to be quick and efficient. Given his latest move, he now knew of my plans to go against him. Previously, both Abazi and I had attacked each other in shadows, but now it was evident that Abazi had gotten impatient.

Well, time for my first move.

I typed a message to my soon-to-be brother-in-law, Aaron Volkov. "Meet me at my office."

The reply was swift and curt. "Who's this?"

"Volkovs' soon-to-be son-in-law," I responded.

The next reply was a string of curses, conveying the asshole's frustration at the entire situation. If it were any other time, I would have taken pleasure in ruffling this buffoon's feathers, but I had more pressing matters at hand.

"I've heard rumors of Abazi having something of yours... something about a black book."

That earned me a long stretch of silence. He kept on typing and erasing the message.

"No worries, take your time, brother-in-law. Considering the way you're struggling to reply, I take it it's something of value for the Volkovs. Good thing you have me on your side now, don't you think so?"

"What do you know, King?"

"Nothing as of now, but I have my men in place. Soon, I'll have the location of your 'possession'. Chances are we can recover it from Abazi once the location is disclosed." Although the book was in my possession, I couldn't possibly let Aaron know this. If I returned it, well, the only outcome would be death by the hands of Jeremy Volkov. And I wanted to live, more so now than ever before.

If only to own Aanya Volkov.

"And you're helping us out of the goodness of your heart, I assume," Aaron replied.

"Of course. Cannot let a rat manipulate my beloved fiancé's family."

"Cut the crap, Theo. What do you want?" The guy was smart when he wanted to be.

"Down to business, I like that. Well, I'll be proposing something at the next Bratva meeting. Once we overthrow Abazi's control over the southern port, I'll propose to put you in his place. You'd be the new King of the Southern port, all but in name. You see, I'm a businessman and cannot involve myself in the illegal activities of the port, but you guys can. I want to be able to do business without suffering any loss. If all goes well, you can keep 10% of the profit we make. Additionally, I'd be giving 20% to the Bratva, which is more than the measly 5% Abazi offers. Give it some thought."

Five minutes later, my phone buzzed with his reply. "OK. But before agreeing, I have one more condition to add."

"Well, go ahead."

"I want you to break off your engagement with Aanya."

That did it. It filled me with a rage like never before, with a need to maim this asshole for good. I will burn each and every one who tries to come between me and my birdie. She was mine before she knew it, and I'll do everything in my power to keep it that way. "Aaron, let me remind you that you're in no position to make demands. You see, you're missing the point here. 'You' need something that 'I' can help you get back. Even if you disagree, I have other ways to get my plan in motion. Not to mention the point that I can and would get back the black book you so desperately want. Also, what are the chances that I blackmail you once I get my hands on your book? My offer is a mere courtesy given that we're to be relatives and all. As for my engagement with Aanya, deal or not, I fully intend to make Aanya my wife. Neither you nor your family has any say in it."

I needed an outlet. Something, before I started smashing stuff here and there. I called Alejandro and asked him to arrange a boxing match as soon as possible. It was a habit I'd developed in my teens to keep whatever this thing I feel at bay. And it did wonders, the pain, the exhaustion-all of it. Previously, Uncle Niko used to accompany me, but since I fell from his grace, Dom had taken up his place. I messaged him, "Up for something fun?" "Down for it always," he replied back.

An hour and a couple of bruises later, I was sated... if only for a while. After a while, Dominic came into view.

"That was a good fight, you left quite an impression. The news will have reached the King's Mansion. Grandpa Aiden will be furious. Get ready for the consequences. I'll be ready with popcorn and stuff. I'll ask Sean to join too."

"Thanks for nothing," I replied curtly.

"Seriously, Theo, what's wrong? What triggered this? I thought we were past our teenage shenanigans. Are you okay?" "Since when are you my therapist? Trust me, out of both of us, you need to get yourself checked. I heard about your latest episode. Uncle Bran must have been thrilled. All good at home, Dommy boy?"

"Asshole. I was asking out of concern. Bet you're not familiar with the term, you psycho."

"Don't care. Be present for the next Bratva meeting. I have a surprise." I left without waiting for his reply.

I knew that Aaron Volkov wouldn't decline the offer made because I made sure that there was no other option left for the Volkovs. As expected, I found a text the next morning. "OK. I accept the deal. But no one else should know about this-neither my father, Aanya, nor anyone."

"Sure. Looking forward to working with you, Mr. Volkov."

This needed a celebration. And what better way to celebrate it than with the little bird who seemed to occupy my mind a lot these days?

I called Aanya. "Hello, Theo?" she answered, her voice curious.

"Hello, little bird. Are you free this evening?"

"Yeah, I suppose. Why are you asking?"

"Good. I'll pick you up at six" I could already picture her face, the way her eyes widened in surprise, the way her lips curved into a reluctant smile. Every moment with her was a game, a tantalizing dance that I couldn't get enough of. Her presence was intoxicating, and the more time I spent with her, the more I craved it. I was obsessed, utterly consumed by the thought of her. The idea of anyone, especially Aaron, trying to come between us was infuriating.

Time to play with my little bird. To ensnare her in a way that not even she's able to keep us apart.

[lucigoo]

Weekly Roundup: 12th May - 9th June

As im sure yo can see, I've been a bot (a lot) lacking in my Weekly ROundup. between a broken and dislocatted wrist (well done me) and just life in general, well I havnt done it. So here we are, I'm back <3 So, its been a few weeks. What I'm gonna do is the normal 6 recs and then add all the fics I've written so we are all up to date. Hope you all had a good FEW weeks lol. As always, recs first:

A Song of War (will set me free) - Sylcian_SPH_Legacy - Wiedźmin | The Witcher - (Geralt/Jaskier, this is one of my fav Warlord Geralt fics) Summary: "Jaskier came home one day and asked a question who changed the path of the ones he called family. Oxenfurt went to war to protect life and save hope four months later."

And Howl Your Pain Unto The Moon - Jeanblack2056 - Wiedźmin | The Witcher - (Geralt/Jaskier, I adore post-Caingorn and Jaskier at Kaer Morhen fics) Summary: After The MountainTM, Jaskier gets himself a nice new curse to wear, turning into a werewolf. He's not aware of much, but there is still something telling him to go north, go to the mountains. When Lambert meets the werewolf on his way home, and recognizes him, the witchers are up for an interesting winter.

Jaskier the disney princess and the harpies - Cao_the_dreamer - The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Geralt/Jaskier, this whole series is brilliant imo.) Summary: Jaskier is adopted by a fmaily of harpies, shennanigans ensue Daisy Chain - kayte_overmoon - Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Geralt/Jaskier, Pregnant omega Jaskier and overprotective Geralt, chefs kiss) Summary:

Geralt meets a young, pregnant omega who makes him question everything he's ever known.

It would be a lot easier to leave him behind if Geralt wasn't already in love with him.

Oak & Ash - Morg47 - Multifandom [Archive of Our Own] - (The hobbit, Bilbo/Thorin, I still adore this series and this one is so good) Summary -

Long before the elves, Orome rode across the lands and purged evil from the forests he loved. Once the other races began to wake, he asked Eru for help protecting Middle Earth. Not long after, Orome found the hobbits. Deciding they were a gift from Eru himself, Orome took them in and began to teach them not only to hunt but also how to care for the lands around them. Any hobbit worth their salt knew how to drive out evil and vanquish it, just as their Valar taught them.

So really, how was Bilbo supposed to refuse a quest that would not only allow him to travel the lands that all hobbits loved but also vanquish one of the greatest evils still on Middle Earth? He was supposed to say no to cleansing forests and vanquishing darkness and seeing new trees? Not going was never an option.

The more evil they met along the way, the better.

Unpleasant Arrangements - Chrononautical - The Hobbit - (Bilbo/Thorin, Jelous Bilbo is just beautiful) Summary: The King Under the Mountain requires a consort. Bilbo is happy to help him find one. So. Very. Happy.

And now, as always, my fics, we have 5 fics and here they are: I Planted My Trees, And Watched Them Grow with You (Bilbo/Thorin, I;ve finally written the peultimate fic for the bagignshield-tober prompts by @smolestboop, I'm getting there lol) Summary: Bilbo is 141 years old, much to old for a hobbit and he feels it.

Hobbits were giving a gift by Yavanna. They know 24 hours before their time is up.

This is Bilbo's time to say goodbye to all those he loves and all who love him. Hitting Him in the Heart (Bilbo/Thorin, last weeks @flashfictionfridayofficial, plese mind the tags) Summary: Thorin hasn't recovered from the Dragon sickness, he is just able to trick everyone but his hobbit.

Bilbo takes matters in his own hands to save his dwarves and Erebor. He will save them the only way he can.

Touching me, touching you (There is nothing magic can’t do) (Sirius/Remus, for the @marauderswithpalestineproject prompt, its smutty) Summary: Remus is away with work, Sirius has had a stressful day.

Thank fully Remus as a suprise and a new way to be intimate with Sirus, even if they are on opposite sides of the world. It's not goodbye, it's not forever, it's just not right now (Sirius/Remus, for the @wolfstarbingo2024, please mind the tags) Summary: Sirius is a disaster of a man and he needs help. He refuses to get it though and Remus is bearing the brunt of that until he decides that he can't any longer. Everything has a golden hue, everything but you (Bilbo'Thorin, for this weeks FFF< again, please mind the tags) Summary: Thorin is gold sick, he is possessive and angry. Especially when he finds out his Golden One isn't beside him in the treasury where he belongs. And there we have it, I'm now all caught up, have a good week all <3

[purplesurveys]

1944

Is your closet disorganized? It's not at the moment. I do have a great talent at slowly making it more and more chaotic lol, but when that happens I just do a hard restart and fix it back to how the clothes should look like.

Have you ever been to Times Square? I haven't but I would love to. I feel like I'd really enjoy my time there.

What TV shows do you watch on a regular basis? The only show I really ever enthusiastically rewatch would be Friends. I can't do that now, though, since they took it out of Netflix a few days ago. :( It's moving on Max when it launches in the Philippines later this month, and since I already have an HBO Go subscription (which will apparently rebrand into Max) I think I won't stay Friends-less for too long.

Have you ever accidentally left something valuable at a shop before? Not a shop, but I've left some stuff behind from events and never got to recover them. The things I feel most sorry for losing would be my pink Hydroflask tumbler (which I've had since college, so I was very attached to it huhu) + my power strip that I had bought just the day before.

What makes your life remarkable? Idk but I'm generally proud of myself for achieving as much as I have at 26 considering how shy I used to be or how much I really doubted myself since childhood. I still do...but I guess I'm just good at faking it till I make it.

Are you putting off doing anything that you really need to get done? Kind of, yeah.

What is the last thing you scribbled down on a Post-It note? Just work notes.

What are you currently listening to? I can hear the ceiling fan and a bit of my mom's TV upstairs, but other than that it's quiet.

How would you react in discovering your best friend was seriously obsessed with you? I'd tbh go straight to her fiance and ask what's going on and how I can help.

Do you care if your produce is organic or not? No.

Do you have any children? If so, how old were you when you had them? If not, do you think you ever will? No. I don't think I will.

Do you eat meat? Yes.

Do you get enough calcium? I like to think so. I drink milk everyday lol, for one.

Do you think before you act or speak? That's something I've definitely learned how to do more and more the older I've gotten and the more people I meet.

Do you have a SwagBucks account? I have no idea what that is.

Are you nosy? I could not care less.

Do you always try on clothes before purchasing them? No, it's such a hassle. I just pick something if I like it, find it in my size, and pay. Fitting takes such a long time considering I'll get it anyway lmao

Is there anything in your closet with the tags still on? I don't think so, no.

Are you happy with the size of your bedroom? It's the right size but I'm also looking forward to having a bigger room just for the sake of being able to experience having a spacious room.

Do you add people you don’t actually know on Facebook? No and I genuinely don't understand why others do that. Facebook, at least where I'm from, is different from other platforms in that it's designed for your personal network and keeping up to date with their lives. That said I uhhhh would have absolutely no reason to be adding strangers and knowing about their vacations or seeing their family photos. That idea is so weird...even stalkerish...to me.

What’s your favorite condiment? Mayonnaise. Chili garlic oil. Sesame oil!!!

Would you even want to know how much of your life has been spent online? Yes just out of curiosity but I know I'd be so ashamed of myself once I find out the number haha.

Do you shop at American Eagle? No.

List 5 things you’re afraid of: Losing a loved one, fire, cockroaches, rats, sharp objects.

Have you forgotten anything important recently? Ahaha last Wednesday I was out for a work meeting only to realize pretty late that I did not have either of my debit cards + my driver's license – I had transferred them into a smaller purse the other day when I went out for a family lunch and never got to place them back in my wallet. Fortunately I had my employee ID with me, but I still felt so stupid.

Would you say you’re an honest person? More often than not, yeah. If anything, I feel like I'm only ever dishonest toward myself – like about my personal feelings and frustrations and insecurities and such. In front of everyone else, though, I find it a waste of time to bullshit them.

The last Facebook message you received from the opposite sex, what did it say? It was just him telling me how to buy a PS5, haha.

What does the nicest message in your Facebook inbox say? I don't really keep track of stuff like that.

Is your best friend single? Nope.

What color was the ink of the last pen you wrote with? Black.

What does your pencil-case look like? I don't have one.

Where was the last place you went that was totally new to you, as in, it was the first time you’d been there? Good question. I wanna say Amici? I've had their food before, but I've never actually dined in their restaurant. It was a pleasant experience and the servers were all very nice.

When was the last time you used someone else’s computer? Around a month ago when I asked for permission to use Tina's laptop since she has Canva premium on hers.

Who do you dislike the most? Explain what you dislike about that person. I don't like one of my uncles because he's always been a useless dad who's done nothing but drag my hardworking, self-made cousin down...he's also a terrible TERRIFUCKINGBLE husband and has never kept a stable job...not to mention the fact that he subscribes to Nazism? You're fucking Filipino, what the fuck are you doing being a Nazi hello ahahaha??? It's just so frustrating watching a man have no redeemable qualities whatso fucking ever lol

What’s the longest you’ve liked someone without doing anything about it? I dunno. Like 2, 3 months? I asked them out immediately as I wanted to give it a shot, at least.

Do you use straightening irons on your hair? What brand? No.

What’s the relationship status of the last person you talked to? Single. At least I think she is. I don't pressure her to tell me anything.

Is there anything you would like to complain about? Yeah work sucks and I wish I could find something that brings me joy again.

What’s the first line of the last song you listened to? "Dearest, darling, my universe, would you take me along?"

Think of the person from your past that hurt you the most. Is there anything you would like to say to that person? No.

Does your mom like the last person you kissed? I knew she did.

Now your cell phone, what color is it? Light blue.

What was so special about today? The actual day sucked, but this evening I treated myself to sushi and found out that WWE Network is back in the country so I subscribed heheh. First thing I watched was Paul Heyman's HOF speech and let's just say I'm so glad I chose that.

If somebody tried to steal your best friend’s boyfriend/girlfriend, what would you do? That's kind of happening already. Gut reaction was to talk shit about the person directly to Angela, especially because she was already crying about it so I had permission to be angry and petty lol.

What was the last thing you said to your mother? Can't remember exactly but she was asking me a luggage-related question since she'll be flying out with dad in the next two weeks, and I just answered her on that.

When was the last time you cried? LOL I teared up a bit watching Hello, Love, Goodbye this afternoon - but since I was watching with my sister and I never cry in front of family, I made up some bullshit excuse that I had to pee but really it was so that I could let it out in the bathroom hahaha

Has anyone made you upset lately? Not really, no.

What are you looking forward to? Seeing my dad. Not working in my workplace anymore...

Does anyone completely understand you? Sure.

Ever stayed up all night on the phone? Yeah.

Do you miss your past? I do miss some parts of it, but it's all in a nostalgic sense. I'm not like, caught up or feeling stuck in 2016 or anything like that.

Do you have a reason to smile right now? I do.

Are you a forgiving person? No.

Do you say sorry first? Yes, if I have to.

Do you like cats? I like cats now - Max helped me with that. I'm still very much a dog person but my previous slight dislike for cats is pretty much nonexistent now.

Has someone promised you something and broke it? Sure.

Did you kiss or hug anyone today? Just the pets.

Does your phone ring in the middle of the night? It doesn't, and unless it's coming from family I'd be a little pissed off if anyone would be calling that late. I would also 100% ignore the call.

Is there anybody you’re really disappointed in right now? No.

Have you ever lost someone you wish you didn’t? For a period of time I felt this way, but it's also been a long time since I got over it.

Are you anything like you were a year ago? Yeah, in that I'm still a ball of nerves and anxiety at work everyday.

Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom? Sure.

Would you rather spend a day outside with friends or inside alone? I'd love to spend a day with friends, mainly because I already work from home 5 days a week and spend most of my time alone.

Think back to this time last year, were you happy? Not completely.

Has anyone upset you in the last week? Sure.

What should you be doing? I should be sleeping but like it's the weekend so I want to make the most of my precious free time before work shoots up my blood pressure again.

Describe how you feel right now in one word. Escaping.

What would you do if you found out one of your friends was going for the person you liked? I don't like anyone.

Do you prefer drinking water from a bottle or a sink? I can't drink from the sink in the first place; tap water is not a thing here.

Will you ever run away and get married in Las Vegas with no notifications to either of your families? No.

Have you ever thrown your iPod in anger? I can't recall ever doing so.

Who did you last have a heart-to-heart conversation with? Angela.

Do you believe that there’s good in everybody? Sorry, no.

Has anything happened to you within the past month that has made you mad? Yes.

Would you ever get a tattoo? Probably not. Needles be freaky.

[maria-mga2024mi4014]

Recovering the Inner world Textures and finalizing its design!

05/10/2024 (Post relevant for work done yesterday)

Hi everyone! I'm back with an important post! The title of this post pretty much speaks for itself so let's get into it!

Recovering the textures: -

When I transferred all my files unto the uni computer and discovered that the textures had completely vanished from my inner world...I wanted to cry TOT. I had to go through the painful process of texturing them again.

I think the main reason as to why this happened is because the Maya on my laptop is the 2023 version and the Maya in the lap computer is the 2022 version. Since the versions are different, the textures don't show one even after transferring the files.

But it was alright, Ravindu told me that I had to select the prop and go to aistandardsurface attribute of the prop. From there I can see the texture templates I had added previously so it was a matter of me going back to that file and adding it again.

work in progress of recovering the textures: -

Issue 1 - There was a problem where the mesh light I can added to the artifact didn't show up. So, I had to add them again with the same settings.

(If you want to have a look at my work in progress for lighting the artifact, then I recommend that you check out the below linked blog post. The points are under 'Texturing the artifact')

Issue 2 - There was another issue where I had accidentally combined the artifact with one of the staircases. So, Maya took quite a long time to adjust it back to separate.

Figuring out the ideal design for the cave walls: -

After recovering all the textures back into the inner world, I took a quick lunch break and started editing the concrete wall picture I took in my garden to create the ideal texture for my inner world walls.

I've created a separate post where I spoke on the work in progress of making the cave wall. If you would like to read it, click the link down below!

(There's one part in the post with some 'Divine Comedy' in it so hopefully you enjoy reading through it :D)

Work in progress for Lighting the cave: -

Now, I had 2 plans for lighting;

Plan A: - To follow a God rays' tutorial to give the cave some majestic lighting.

OR

Plan B: - To create light torches and add in atmospheric lighting for a bright and foggy lighting to the cave.

Q/ Which lighting plan was successful?

I first started off with my plan A in hopes of creating the God rays, however it was a waste of time. For some reason, the spotlight wasn't working too well on the lab computer. So, I had to give up on the idea.

At this point, plan B was my only option, so I had to try my best and made the lighting perfect. So, here's how Plan B went:

At first, I needed to create a torch pillar for the still fire that was the main light source for the cave. At first, I created 6 of them but later reduced them to 4 when I followed the atmospheric lighting.

Next up, I created a diamond shape using a cube for a glowing crystal effect instead of fire for the lighting. (My idea for the still fire change into the glowing crystal ideal once I added the mesh lights.)

Once I converted the crystals at the top of the torch into mesh lights, I set up the intensity to 10 and the exposure to 5. However, the lighting didn't give off the soft glow I was looking for.

Right after adding the mesh lights, I followed the 'atmospheric light tutorial'. Finding the tutorial was the absolute best because it gave the mesh lights a soft glow. A soft glow lighting seems like the best lighting option since the inside of a cave would be quite stuffy. So, Plan B worked!

Feedback from Ravindu and Trishan: -

Before my lecturers left, I showed my inner world to get some feedback from them. I was over the moon to hear them say that it actually looks like a cave. So, my goal for the inner world building was successful. The only addition I needed to do was make the cave much messier. I needed to add some moss, rocks, arrows, etc. to make the cave look much more like a cave. At that moment it was looking too clean.

I added a bunch of arrows scattered around the floor, added some rocks and tumbled over vases and added the moss. This is the best I could do to make it look much messier.

By the time I had finished the final look of the environment, it was past 6pm. So, I had to leave the lab at that time. I wish I has some time to add in the camera movements at least, but I will have to do that on Monday.

[muthaz-rapapa]

[Theory] Kaito's Desired Endgame

Actually, this is more of breakdown of why I don't think the common (?) theory of him aiming to switch Akiho and Sakura's lives is true.

It just bugged me a lot and I need to sort these thoughts out of system. Because if Kaito does want the girls to switch places, then that would count as malicious intent on his part (cuz doing so would harm Sakura which is like the biggest tabooboo in CCS land). And that doesn't align with what I see in the portrayal of his character so far.

Yea, he may be sneaky but there has been nothing to suggest that Kaito is a cruel or evil person. Far from it.

So I'm going to attempt to prove the "switch lives" theory wrong and come up with a possible new one at what his real goal might be. (others may have thought some of this up already but I've been out of the loop on CC as a whole to mentally recover so...just please give me space, thanks)

Remaining chapters

Let's start with the technical stuff first.

CC will end with vol 14 and right now we are currently at 69 chapters with ch 70 to be released at the end of January (so within a few days).

Usually a volume has 5-6 chapters with each one being about an average of 30 pages long. If so, the story should end with ch 70 or 71, right? Since vol 13 ended with ch 65 so ch 66-69, which are already out, fills up 4 chapters of vol 14 already.

Well, final manga volumes can be thicker than the regular volume by having more pages in the final chapter(s).

This happened with Pandora Hearts (the only other manga I have on hand that I can use as reference for this matter). Its final Japanese volume (24) had 70 more pages than the previous vol 23 and the final chapter alone totaled around 100 pages. See below photo for comparison:

Yea, so at the very least I think we might get 1 or 2 more extended chapters after 70 to wrap everything in the story up properly. 3 chapters maximum if we're really pushing it.

It can't be 5 chapters because then the story would end end at vol 15, not 14.

Right? Right. Ok, next.

EDIT: I stand corrected because ANN announced in an article last year (?) it would end at vol 14 but apparently, there was a mistake and now it'll end at vol 15. So yea, there's 5 more chapters of story after ch 70!

2) The possibility of a "simulation" or a dream-like scenario where the two "Alice"s experience switched lives.

Kind of something similar to the final judgement in the first arc where Sakura faced off against Yue before becoming the master of the former Clow Cards. The part where she went unconscious and saw a world where everybody forgot who they loved most?

Yea, that's exclusive to the anime series. It didn't occur in the original manga where Sakura stayed conscious, fended Yue off and won a lot faster.

If such a thing were to be added to CC's finale, you're going to need at least 3 out of the 6 chapters left for the desired...emotional impact. But even so, when we've spent a whole two volumes in the fantasy world of Clockland already, adding another layer to this "dream" the characters are already in...it's kinda superfluous and tiring, to be honest.

Not to mention, you need pages to wrap up other things as well. Like addressing Sakura's control over her growing powers? How are they gonna close that out? What about the European magicians? Will we know what they'll do once they learned Akiho isn't the artifact anymore? So many things to do before ch 75.

Creating and diving into another reality adds a whole other problem to the pile and frankly, even with the Exchange card, I don't believe there's even enough magic to be able to pull off such feat either.

But more on that later because there's something else that I must address before that.

3) Clues aren't direct and premonitions aren't exact.

There seems to be some collective perception that Momo's hint for Sakura back in ch 50-51 is suggesting Kaito intends to have Sakura replaced with Akiho and that's why nobody recognizes Sakura when she runs around frantically asking everyone what's going on.

Bzzt. Wrong.

The hint was not that she was going to be forced to switch lives (because if that were true, where was Akiho then?) but rather, Sakura was going to be thrown into the world of the story of Alice in Clockland. In other words, Momo's book.

Notice how all the houses and trees and stuff resemble props within a play? And how the school play eventually ended up connecting with the story in the book.

Yea, the hint was telling everyone that the finale will take place in a fictional setting.

As for why none of her family and friends recognized her in Momo's simulation, the opposite actually happened when Sakura became "Alice" after entering the book.

In the hint, Sakura remembers everyone but nobody knows who she is.

In the book, Alice!Sakura doesn't remember who she herself is but all the Clear Cards that took on the image of her loved ones (and therefore, are representing her loved ones) do.

In other words, the hint was meant to throw everyone off of what to expect while still giving us a clue of what will occur in later chapters. (side note: this also sorta brings to mind a line that Alice in the AiW books said: "Nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn't.")

And the meaning behind the hint became clear quite recently to me too.

Sakura was able to break the spell on her and recall her true identity by remembering the bonds she has with the people important to her. This effectively indicates that the memories we have with others are a large part of what defines who we are.

That if we don't lose sight of our connections with those dear to us, we won't lose sight of ourselves either.

Just like how Akiho recalled much faster about who she herself is by remembering never forgetting her feelings for Kaito.

Next, the premonitions.

Keep in mind that while Sakura's dreams fortell the future, they are also a product of her mind trying to sort things out while she's sleeping.

The things we couldn't readily process while awake (like confusion, shock, etc) would often be set aside in our unconsciousness to be dealt with later. Notably during the time we're not awake.

And I believe that the brain would try process those things to the best of its ability...but it can only do so with the information it already has available on hand. So anything you're not aware of or don't know yet, something else will be used as placeholder instead.

For example, the cloaked figure that Sakura pulled the hood off to reveal (a soulless-eyed) Syaoran underneath. That actually foretold that she will confront the Dreaming Card and an imposter Syaoran (aka Kaito in disguise) in Momo's book.

When she was still dreaming of MCF (sp?), she wasn't aware of Kaito's true identity as a magician yet so she kept seeing Syaoran in the cloak who always wore an expressionless face that she couldn't decipher. Because she didn't know that person was going to be Kaito.

But after she learned Kaito could use magic in ch 54, she no longer saw MCF!Syaoran in her dreams anymore.

Additionally, the Akiho who Sakura saw in her dreams turned out to be different than what's happening now.

In her dreams, Akiho is not conscious and always wearing her ritual dress with a vacant expression on her face. Like an empty doll.

But in the book, Akiho is awake despite the fact that her memory was temporarily subdued and she is wearing a noticeably different outfit. The dress of the Red Queen.

Her expressions are solemn but her eyes are very much alive in contrast to the Akiho in the dreams.

As for the serpentine winged dragon, no one smart should've expected it could represent anyone else other than Kaito.

On the corner of Kaito's robes as well as the back, there is the symbol of the dragon.

But as Sakura didn't suspect Kaito of anything yet at the time when she started having these dreams, her mind used the image of a dragon to clue her in on who she will be confronting later on.

However, it should be noted that none of what Sakura saw in the dreams suggests that she will switch lives with Akiho.

It only foretold that she will meet and confront these figures (the imposter Syaoran/Kaito in disguise, Akiho, the Dreaming Card and the dragon/Kaito as his real self) within the book.

And that future she saw already came to be as of these past two volumes.

4) The creation of the Exchange card

It should be pretty obvious by now that the whole synchro plan was for the sake of creating the circumstances needed to establish the foundations of this card.

Through Akiho and Sakura sharing feelings and bits of memories across their joint dreams, the idea of a "trade" has been incepted into Sakura's mind early on so that she will eventually create a card that can function as a link, a channel, for an exchange to be possible on immediate demand.

Throwing her into the book and making her "Alice" was just the final push to materialize the card into existence. Because the cards are born from Sakura's inner emotions, the events that led up to this point were meant to foster a certain feeling within her for that purpose.

As "Alice", the heroine, she was faced with the dilemma of the Red Queen's loneliness and inability to leave Clockland. That is what developed a wish in her to save the Queen (Akiho).

A desire to help Akiho by saying "I should've taken your place".

With that desire, a new card is born.

My prediction was correct (partially). Kaito was betting on this with the combination of his two plans (the synchro + the story of Clockland). He wanted to utilize the heroine's tendency towards altruism to bring about the card he needed.

As long as Sakura wanted to save Akiho, she would be able to birth the card needed for such a task.

However, none of that necessarily means he intends to use it to switch their lives. The only definitive thing out of this was that he wanted a specific card from Sakura all along...which is also what he's been saying all along, too.

How he intends to use the card may not be what everyone is expecting.

5) Conditions that need to be met + conflicts that may arise in using Exchange.

There are several things we need to ask before we come to any conclusions, chiefly among them the following:

Who can use the Exchange card? (read: is likely to use it in the current scenario)

And do the conditions differ depending on the person using it? Along with what their respective wish is?

First off, let's remember that the four central characters are all within a rather ambiguous space at the moment.

While the Clear Cards are there in the book and were created by Sakura, she was told that not all of them would not outright obey her commands. Or at least, they are following her subconscious will rather than her conscious one.

For example, when Sakura was fighting off the Dreaming card, trying to escape the book with Akiho, only to realize she didn't truly leave the book and what she saw was only a dream. Her attempt to leave was an illusion...a dream that she wished for as clarified by Kaito after it broke.

In other words, it can be interpreted that what Sakura truly wanted deep down was to believe that everything happening around her was not real. That it was a dream.

We should also note that Kaito, as the author/creator of Clockland, has some significant control over this field as well. They are playing on his turf right now so he has a slight advantage over them.

At the very least, the ones that seem to hold the most sway over the turnout of the story are the two most powerful magicians present (Sakura and Kaito) as well as the one whose choice will influence them the most (Akiho).

Moreover, we should also remember that he was able to use Clear Mirror to disguise himself as Syaoran.

As such, who can be called "master" over a Card may have been blurred within the book. It's possible the cards can respond to the will of anyone.

Depending on whose hand they're being held in and perhaps also, provided that the order they give doesn't conflict with Sakura's subconscious desire.

So now it becomes the question of who Exchange will fall into the hands of...

If it goes to Sakura, there are two ways this can play out:

Kaito reveals the truth about him and Akiho along with his wish to Sakura and asks her to use Exchange to fulfill it. If his wish is for her to switch lives with Akiho (and therefore, harmful intent), of course Sakura would refuse and his plan will fail on the spot. So naturally, it can't be that. Frankly, this approach makes no sense and further rules out the switch theory. Kaito cannot afford to fail in his quest to save Akiho so he needs a plan that is as airtight as possible with a higher percentage of succeeding. Relying completely on Sakura's goodwill won't give him that because he knows Sakura isn't a pushover. He knows she wouldn't just say "yes" to anything drastic even if it's to save a friend.

A more likely possibility is that he would offer himself in exchange for Akiho's life. His priority is to save Akiho and the most immediate danger is the book inside her. More than switching lives, he needs that book removed (and there's no guarantee that switching lives will remove the book anyway). He is willing to sacrifice everything he has, including his magic and what's left of his dwindling life, to get it out of her. In which case, Sakura would also refuse because not only would that hurt Akiho if she loses Kaito but it would also be assisted suicide. Which is something she would never consent to (and also extremely inappropriate for a story with a young age demographic). Sakura would never consent to sacrificing someone else no matter what the cause, especially when she still knows nothing about Kaito. And when she does learn the truth about him and his and Akiho's past, it will just make her refuse to let Kaito die even harder.

This part of the theory hasn't taken into consideration of what other cards she might use later (like Rewind) but I think we can say with some certainty that Exchange in Sakura's hands would be a dead end for Kaito so he will probably do his best to not let it go to her.

Now, if Exchange falls to Kaito, then it's a question of what his true intentions are with this card.

Everyone wants to perceive that he wishes to switch the girls' lives.

But I...simply do not believe there's enough time to bring about something that cosmic-sized of a change (along with all the action it entails), prevent it, resolve the issues at hand, have Sakura's party learn everything about Akiho and Kaito's pasts, reconcile...and then dedicate the entire last chapter to SyaoSaku being loveydovey with each other for fanservice. If the last 5 chapters are all 30 pages each.

Also, it seems a little too obvious to be true and there are too many contradictions that can make this go wrong.

For one, if we follow by the rules of magic, magical transactions usually need to be equal in value on both sides to be done successfully. Otherwise it will either not go through...or there will be severe consequences to make the transaction even.

So the definition behind Exchange shouldn't be that different.

Frankly, in the case of Akiho and Sakura's respective lives, they are not in fact equal.

They may share some things in common (being chocomint fans, of the same height, etc) but those are all surface similarities and nothing deep.

Since they've led different lives and had different experiences, they would naturally have different feelings, different hearts and therefore, different values.

What is important to Sakura is not the same for what is important to Akiho. For instance, the people they love most are different and thus, inexchangable.

There are also things that Sakura has that Akiho doesn't (magic, family, happy childhood, etc) and that goes the same the other way around, too. Akiho possesses things that Sakura doesn't have either (passion for books, emotional scars, trauma, and a deeper understanding of darkness due to a sad past).

Adding that up, the exchange would be doomed to fail because Akiho and Sakura are too distinct from each other as individuals to be switched smoothly.

Kaito is a magician so on top of knowing how different Akiho is from Sakura, he must be aware of this rule as well.

Furthermore, if the Exchange card takes into account what the user sees as equal in value for a trade, then he would fail there too.

Because of course he would place more importance on Akiho's life than Sakura's or anyone else's.

The scales would be tipped and maybe the magic might not even start up because the conditions for a fair trade have not been met to initiate it.

There's also the possibility of Kaito exchanging positions with Akiho.

In fact, he and Akiho are on more even standing than Akiho and Sakura are.

They share similar backgrounds (lonely pasts, traumatic and abused childhoods) and both are in danger of "dying" with their time running out (Kaito from using too much rewind, Akiho from the progression of the artifact that will erase her soul).

Since Kaito possesses a lot of innate magic while Akiho has that book filled with magic inside her, he can have Exchange put the book inside him while Akiho receives his magic. Doing so, Akiho's soul is preserved at the cost of his own.

But does he really want that with how much his life has been shaved off already from the multiple rewinds?

Doubt it.

Because besides saving her soul, Kaito wants Akiho to live a long and happy life as well. He didn't do all this work just to extend her life for a few more days or weeks or months. He wants her to have a future.

Moreover, even if it can save her soul, any method that forces magic onto Akiho goes against the biggest principle he's been standing by this entire time: that Akiho doesn't need magic.

That she isn't less valuable because she doesn't have any powers.

Whether it be from Sakura or him, it doesn' t matter. He does not want Akiho to change since she's already fine as she is now. She's fine being a normal person.

Giving her magic goes against the moral of their story and most of all, would validate the cruel criticism Akiho's clan had always thrown at her which is something Kaito would want to avoid at all costs.

So any way that ends with Akiho gaining magic is a no no. Because as long as she has magic, whether as an artifact or a magician, Akiho will always be in danger of being taken back by her clan to serve their own purposes.

They only have any interest in her if she contains power within her. If she doesn't, they will give up trying to reclaim her. That is the best outcome Kaito could hope for. Hence why he wants the book removed because then the magicians will stop chasing after Akiho for good and she can finally live in peace.

One more thing. A switch of lives means uprooting what has established the girls as the people they are now...which is gonna be incredibly hard to do.

Not only does it mess with personal history and relationships and therefore, effectively change who they are, it can screw up world through... some effect.

The girls have already lived 13 years, they made their mark in the records of time. The logic that constitutes them individually are already imprinted on the fabric of reality. This is not easily undone, rearranged and stitched perfectly back together.

And the price to attempt it sounds like it would be too much as well. It's not something Kaito alone can pay for. Not even with his and Sakura's magic combined.

Again, his major goals are 1) to remove the book from Akiho foremost and 2) to ensure that nothing that makes Akiho "Akiho" changes.

That includes the things that are the most precious to her. Her appreciation for books, her cherishment of Momo, the friendships she's made in Tomoeda.

And also, her love for her parents.

She may not have known them but she still treasures the fact that she had parents once, that she is the daughter to someone. The few things she does know about her mother and father, she keeps close to her heart. She wants to hold onto whatever she has of them because she has nothing else of them to keep.

Kaito understands this more than anyone because Akiho told this to him herself.

And the fact that Lilie, Akiho's mother, was also a significant person in his life is more than enough to deter him from ever wanting to sever the connection Akiho has with her parents. Because Lilie is an important part of Akiho, too. If Akiho loses that, she will no longer be the Akiho that she is now.

In short, switching Akiho's life with another's might turn her into a girl who has warm family and friends and a happy, sheltered childhood and all...but that girl wouldn't be the same Akiho in front of him at this moment.

Therefore, I must conclude that exchanging Akiho and Sakura's lives is probably not what he's aiming for. Because that ultimately means changing Akiho from who she is now into someone entirely different.

She would not be Akiho anymore if that happens.

6) Kaito's true wish + the endgame he wants

This is the part where I throw out a new theory.

Even if it's not an exchange of lives or magic, there will still be an exchange of something.

A wish and a price to pay for that wish.

Kaito wants the book that has been carved into Akiho's body to be removed.

The book has been implanted by the powers of many, many magicians from both the Association and Akiho's clan. And over the years, more magic has been added to its pages through all the books Akiho had read.

The amount of magic within her, though not specified, must be enormous. For it to be taken out without harming the vessel (Akiho) would require a very hefty price.

Kaito's life and his magic might not be enough. Hell, even adding Sakura's magic into the equation, overflowing as it is, might not be enough either because she is still only one person against the hundreds of magics and taboos stored in Akiho.

So what can Kaito offer, something that only belongs to him, to make it so the book no longer endangers Akiho? What does he alone possess that can match in equal value for the fulfillment of that wish?

Perhaps his own existence?

As in, erasing it from the world? That's a pretty big offer, isn't it?

Like it was discussed above, any tempering with the events of time is a very difficult thing to accomplish. In the magician society, it is also a widely known taboo. You don't mess with the workings of time and even the altering of one person's life in the flow of it can result in some significant change.

But see, if this is indeed possible...then the task is "easier" to carry out with Kaito precisely because there a very few people who are aware of him. In fact, the less others know about him, the better. It would not create such a big backlash if he were to disappear.

Because he thinks he didn't make enough of an impact on anything that would be hard to forget and also probably believes that everybody wants to forget about him.

He has no blood relatives looking for him so he believes he doesn't have a true home or family to go back or belong to.

The Association only ever saw him as a tool to be used and is out to kill him for taking Akiho (the artifact) away so they definitely won't miss him.

And nobody in Sakura's party really understands what he's after. They only suspect he's scheming something so they think the worst of him because they lack information to consider otherwise. Moreover, Kaito had also went to great lengths to hide his personal information from being discovered. He doesn't want people to know about him because that will make disappearing much more difficult.

Knowing him and his self-loathing, his belief and depression that he'll always be alone, his guilt over that blank book comment that brought this fate upon Akiho (the person he loves most) and how little time he has left to live anyway, Kaito is definitely in the mindset that there would be no problem if he were gone.

For him, it might even be preferable. This way, Akiho can be saved and he (as the "villain" he thinks he is) can exit this story, this world, so that it could have the "happy ending" he envisioned.

Though I suspect he wouldn't request for an ending on such a massive scale either because again, he cannot risk anything that could change Akiho from who she is now.

He'd still want his efforts to remain, to keep everything that built up this story to stay (taking Akiho away from her clan, bringing her to Japan, letting her meet and befriend Sakura, enacting the magic of Momo's book to remove the artifact, etc) so that it preserves Akiho's foundations as her own person.

He would just want to blot himself out. So that only he is forgotten after this is all over.

Akiho can still have Momo, her friends, her memories of her parents, the life she's lived up till now. It's only Kaito who wouldn't be there like he originally was.

There may be blank spots left behind where he used to be but since not many people knew about him, he trusts the world can fill in those blanks on its own. Like history correcting itself by creating little "coincidences" or whatever to explain and make sure things make sense.

For Akiho, he knows he can at least entrust her into Sakura's care after he's gone. That might be another reason why he allowed them to form a close friendship in spite of the dangers it could've posed to Akiho (i.e. the artifact reacting to Sakura's magic and reaching closer to completion, thereby shutting Akiho's consciousness down).

It wasn't just for the sake of the synchro and creating the Exchange card he was waiting for. It was also because he needed a good person to be there for Akiho, someone who is capable of protecting her when he no longer could. And for sure, he has confidence in Sakura because everybody knows Sakura will never abandon a person in need.

As long as the book is removed, the European magicians won't come after Akiho anymore. Sakura and co can take good care of Akiho because they are kind people. They will give her a safe place to stay, away from all the troubles of magic.

Including him, who believes his value lies only in his magic and was the source of this whole mess to begin with because of his affiliation with magic.

To make up for his "sin", for what he accidentally did to Akiho, Kaito is more than willing to step aside and vanish so that he doesn't get in the way of Akiho being happy.

However, he could not be more wrong because he still has absolutely no idea just how much Akiho loves him and therefore, how it's inevitably going to change her, to destroy her, if he erases himself from her life.

She is who she is because of him. If it weren't for Kaito making the choice to take her away from her clan, to save her from the doom of losing her soul, she never would've gotten this far. She never would've survived to become the Akiho she is now. Never to know what love is, to make friends and to realize that she's always had the choice in the matter of her own happiness.

Kaito taught her all that. He gave her that chance when no one else did.

He is the lynchpin of her existence. The reason why he's the most important person in her life.

She was able to become who she was because he was there for her, to support her and encourage her and to protect her and love her as she should've been loved.

Take him away and everything that they both worked so hard for will become undone. It doesn't matter how well taken care of she is by people like Sakura afterwards, they can never fill the hole he'd leave behind.

That void will always hurt her because she knows something, someone, is missing from where they should be.

Only he can fill that spot in her heart. No one else can.

He is the only person for her. He is the only person who knows best how to let Akiho stay Akiho.

And Akiho's greatest task in this story is to make him see that.

To make him realize that there is someone who will be deeply affected if they were to lose him and that's her. The one he cares most about and wants to save the most.

If he doesn't want Akiho to change into something she isn't...

If he doesn't want to see her worst off than she is now, a hollow husk who will grieve the loss of him forever...

If he truly wants her to be happy, then he has to listen to her. He has to believe her when she says "I love you. I will never be the same without you so don't leave me. Stay with me."

With that, I think I can picture the order of what might happen for Akiho and Kaito.

Akiho will be saved first with the removal of the book.

Then Kaito will be saved next through some other miracle means with Sakura's assistance.

But for sure, it is Akiho who will contribute the most to stopping him from dropping off the edge of no return. That loss will be hers to bear if she fails to so the one who has to put in the most effort to save Kaito will also be the person who loves him the most.

And she'll do that all without the need for magic. Just like she's always done to get by.

She just needs to be herself, to just be Akiho.

After all, Akiho is the true main character of "Alice in Clockland" whereas Sakura is the stand-in heroine for the sake of manifesting the magic Kaito needs.

The world of Clockland can bend to her will because she is the Queen.

Likewise, the story of Clockland can end however she wishes it to because she is in fact, the real Alice.

Kaito weaved this tale for her sake, for the real Alice.

Therefore, only she has the power to stop him. Only Akiho, the real Alice, is capable of turning him away from death and giving him reason to want to live.

Kaito wants the best and happiest ending for Akiho? Then don't go. Don't disappear.

He needs to understand the importance of his connection with Akiho. He needs to understand what it is that his most beloved reader truly wants in order to properly give her the most satisfactory "happy ending".

[killuaisaprincess]

THREE YEARS OF WRITING 🧁 (or close enough!)

Lemme start by saying I am tired. One hater takes enough out of me, I have ADD hypersensitivity, so yeah, still kinda recovering!

I wanted to make this something super happy! And actually on time, but literally, one day later, today some asshole wants to show up in my tumblr inbox and complain? And it was about the old me! So I'm doing it early! I’m here to celebrate my growth! Fuck them! Lol 🖕🎉

They were basically, oh, you’re not Q! You’ve fallen off! No, I’m not! Q is dead! And Q was never truly entirely me! I will always be grateful if she hadn’t taken the first step, I wouldn’t be here, but Q got scared even writing the simple niche of Gon carrying Ki more than once! I still remember that authors note Q wrote apologizing! I wanna laugh at her! Like she owed anyone anything! It was like her fourth fic, I think.

I get her, part of her still lies in me! Like I’m sorry to that person you’re so insecure and pathetic that someone changing and growing into a confident person who writes what she totally likes full on indulgence! Bothers you! She was always in there okie! She was just scared! 

Creating Qutie was the first step. And I’m proud of her and how far she’s come! I don’t care anymore if everyone hates me! I know most probs do! I am confident and happy about my presence here! And love that I can speak up without fearing anymore! Realizing I don’t fit! Or belong with the fandom was the best thing that ever happened to me! I don’t forgive the og hater/stalker and made me poof Q, but I am actually thankful to them. 

My third year anniversary of writing is coming up on Sept, 4! 

And I probs would’ve made a speech about how happy I am and how far I’ve come then too! So consider this that! Except it probs would’ve been 50 tags cuz that’s my style lol 😚

No matter what anyone says I am proud of me!

I love my writing, and I love my fics! It really just is the simple concept of imagining finding an author you like! And then there are tons of works ready for you to read! Even if they're small thingies like mine! I was into GK back in 2012, but I was young and there wasn't any GK really, and plus after CAA I was just depressed there was nothing there for me. So I left! And then 2020 of June I fell back into Gonki!

I watched tons of reactors and got back in, but I couldn't find anything that was my taste fic wise, so I just took a leap of fate, I found maybe one fic of Gon carrying Ki maybe one and billions that I did not like! So I decided to do it for me!

I wanna be with Gonkillu forever! I don't wanna imagine a world where I leave again! But on the chance it ever does happen? Look what I've done for me! I've become that author I would like with tons of fics all ready to read! For me! 90+ will be there if it does happen.

And nothing pleases me more! I do reread my fics as is! But the idea of knowing me of the future should something ever happen has that... it's the best feeling!

And no one will take that from me! When I couldn't find anything I wanted in 2020 I didn't go to writers and go WAHHH WAHH WAHHH DO WHAT I WANT I took action. So no loser anon is gonna stop me. If you liked the old me become her, but I like the new current me more! Who goes full in no fear!

I do wish there was a GK world and I will say stuff like that! Cuz I do wish there was! But I've never gone to a writer and been like dooo this for meee, like!

I put my money where my mouth is and am creating the GK world I want for myself!

Thank you, me! For the three years of writing! Here's to many more!

I’m on a little teeny tiny island by myself! I need a cute flag 🥺 IT HAS TO BE PINK OMG WITH GON CARRYING KI AND KI WEARING A CUTE PINK DRESS AND LITTLE BUNNY EARS 🥺 he’s a little bunny 🐰 

[his-mother-is-lightning]

EPISODE 6: FEAST OR FAMINE (too soon?)

AKA - Break a leg, kid! (Sanji's bad day)

AKA AKA - a blond and a red-leg walk into a bar

AKA AKA AKA - how many pirates does it take to sew up a swordsman? (answer: just one, if he's also a chef)

my episode 5 reaction

Luffy just straight up dissociating over here. A grand start to the episode

Will the trope of someone about to do surgery asking for alcohol and then drinking it ever not be funny? I don't know, but I don't want to live in a world where it isn't

Mihawk wears cowboy boots 👢

I'm so glad they don't call him Hawkeye all the time like they do in the anime. Dracule Mihawk is an objectively amazing name - why the hell would he need a nickname?

Luffy cleaning Zoro's swords + his mental spiral/rant about wanting Zoro to recover is such a gut wrenching moment.

Love me a group of grown men making fun of a child. Poor tiny Sanji has already been through enough guys (as we learn much later in the series) and then Zeff tries to add oregano to his food? The inhumanity of it all!

Just two guys, stuck on a rock, trying to not starve to death. Just a guy watching a bratty kid walk away with all their food. Just a child, laid out in the sun, waiting to die. Just a pair of survivors, dreaming of a restaurant in the middle of the ocean. Just a-

(warning for gross) but like, Zeff was planning on dying and letting Sanji eat his corpse, right? And if they were stuck there for 85 days... what did they eat? Did they finish eating his leg? Bc that seems like the only option. How am I the only one wondering this??

Ngl I don't get the fairy tale Nami reads to Zoro. Maybe that's why I don't get her perspective. Cause she's yelling at Luffy and it's clear that she's upset, but on what planet could Luffy have stopped Zoro from going after Mihawk?

Koby is over here, trying to be helpful by asking Garp to accept his grandson for who he is. Which Garp obvs takes to mean, "if he wants to be a pirate so damn badly, then I'll treat him like a pirate. And kill him"

Meanwhile Arlong slams open the door, late to the party with his Starbucks, ready to make everything worse for everyone.

Luffy trying to talk to an unconscious Zoro - so soft, so pure.

"I can't let innocent people get hurt because of me" must sting. Poor Nami. Everything she's running from is catching up, and here's Luffy literally running at them

HOW DID YOU NOT NOTICE THERES AN EAR IN THE BAND OF YOUR HAT?? He was just repairing the hat last episode!!

Ok Nami I get it. I get it, right. But telling Arlong to drop him in the sea is such a fucked up thing to do. I can only think that she has faith that one of the crew would go and save him. That has to be it, right?

Nami changing into a slinkier outfit when she goes back to Arlong's crew is Noted.

And there's Sanji, diving into the water to save Luffy, a guy he literally just met. Did he realize that Luffy couldn't swim?

Garp makes his stupid little speech wearing his stupid little dog hat. What is with these ppl wearing animals on their head?

Helmeppo looking over at Koby when he hears about the new plan bc he's caught the friendship bug and it's given him a bad case of feelings

Luffy going to Zoro at his lowest moment to say 'i need you right now. I need you back' is so pure. And of course Zoro wakes up for him

Love me a man who wears a full suit to join his new pirate crew. And when he has a beautiful, emotional goodbye with his father figure? Sanji cries and I cry and we all cry about found families.

The return of Buggy! Poor Sanji is standing at the back, prob wondering what the fuck he's gotten himself into

I'm saving the last two episodes for tomorrow. And once I've finished season one, I'll prob go back to watching the anime. I was at episode 60 I think

Onwards and upwards

[spaceyflowerswriting]

request by @gold21101 !

a new me... kind of (hyeonsu lee x reader)

details: fluffy oneshot, gender neutral reader written in 2nd pov, general canon au, you and hyeonsu are best friends, this takes place after jinho gets arrested

summary: hyeonsu opens up for once.

a/n: thank you for the request :]

fyi a lot of this characterization is made up since hyeonsu's just a side character with little screen time but i wanted to develop(?) him so... either way, i hope this can still be enjoyed !!

×

"Fucking hell..." Hyeonsu groaned and turned away the second you walked into the hospital room.

You scoffed, strolling in with a small smile. "Your best friend comes here to visit you and this is how you react?"

He glared at you before trying to hide his face behind his hands. "It's embarrassing as fuck having you visit me. I got stabbed and went down in barely a minute. Meanwhile that stupid god damn bowl haircut loser kicked that gangster freak's ass."

You rolled your eyes and pulled over a chair to sit by Hyeonsu in his bed. "Okay, and? The only reason you were there in the first place was because you were getting paid. I'd say that's even more embarrassing because everyone else was there for justice, revenge, or whatever."

"Wow, fuck you."

You burst into a small fit of laughter, replying, "You didn't deny me." He swore at you again while you hummed. "Yeah, yeah. Anyways, how are you feeling? You've been ignoring all my texts."

He huffed. "I didn't want you to visit so I ignored you hoping that would make you leave me alone."

"Clearly you don't know how our friendship works."

"Whatever, dumbass." Hyeonsu finally lowered his hands and turned back to face you. "Also, I'm feeling fine. I wanna get the hell outta here but the doctors are sayin' I should stay one more day so they can make sure my body's recovering normally or something."

"Well, at least you feel okay." You offer him a smile and he barely returned it.

"Yeah." He added more quietly, "Emotionally, though? I don't know if I'm gonna recover."

"That bad? Never heard you bring up your emotions like that before." For once your tone is somewhat sympathetic.

Hyeonsu went silent, his expression unreadable. It stayed like that for a long while. Usually you would've mocked him, but considering what he just went through, you held back. Worry slowly filled you up as the silence dragged on.

It wasn't until nearly a whole minute later he finally spoke up again.

"Since I'm already embarrassing myself being here, it wouldn't hurt to add to it, huh?"

You only tilt your head to prompt him for more.

He sighed heavily. "Look, I already know how stupid this sounds, but I just want to say I've been thinking about... me. And... I feel weird."

"Go on."

Hyeonsu made vague motions with a hand before having it fall with a "thump" by his side as he sighed again, but more harshly. "Nevermind. It's too stupid."

You push him with, "Hyeonsu, come on. You've told me all kinds of stupid shit before already."

"Ugh. My pride is on the fucking line."

"Then let it out so I can smash it to bits. You'll have space to remake your pride then!" Your reply is responded with a not-very-light punch to the arm. "Ow!"

"Will you take me more seriously if I say I'm having an identity crisis instead?"

"Huh?" The words catch you so much by surprise you could almost ignore the stinging in your arm.

He turned, almost violently, just before you could see his expression. "Yeah. Exactly."

"Embarrassing to say out loud?" you finished for him.

A tense silence fell over the both of you. You suddenly felt awkward, unsure of how to best proceed, but eventually you carefully ask, "What's making you feel like that?" He doesn't answer immediately, and you take the small moment to go back to wincing at your arm.

"I don't fuckin' know. I mean, I do, but..." Hyeonsu groaned, slapping a hand over his face and dragging it down. "It's..."

"Yeah..."

"Want me to guess?"

He turned to look at you just to deadpan. "No, that'll only make me feel more stupid because I know you're gonna say some dumb shit."

You snickered. "Then just say it. Maybe even whisper it, if that helps you feel like you're not announcing something embarrassing to the world."

He thinned his lips, taking your words into consideration, but then shook his head. "You know what, I'll just say it." Hesitance, a dramatic pause. "Me getting my ass beat." Your jaw dropped immediately while he threw his hands up in the air. "There, I fuckin' said it." Once his hands fell back down, he glared at you. "Pick up your damn jaw."

"My bad, I just--" You sputtered over yourself. "Are you--are you being serious? Getting your ass beat is giving you an identity crisis?"

"Don't say it together like that, I'm realizing even more how stupid this sounds."

"I mean, it does sounds funny, but I wanna understand. What's going on?"

"Look, you think I know? I just feel fucking stupid about it," he scoffed.

"I'm telling you, Hyeonsu, this is why dudes like you need to explore your own emotions and be able to vocalize them better instead of just being angry all the time."

"Not this shit again..."

"Okay, sorry, I'm being serious though." You reach a hand out, touching his forearm. "And as your friend, I want to understand and help you get through this, but I can't help you if you can't express it to me." A smile formed on your face as you noticed him relax a little under your touch despite his knitted brows.

"Fine. I guess it's..." He looked off to the side. "I never really thought I was the strongest person in the world, but I did think I was the best around at least. Clearly, I'm not."

"And...?"

"And it's making me think I shouldn't be walking around the way I do." He sighed harshly. "Don't get the wrong idea, I'm not suddenly some insecure loser, I know I'm still better than most people but it just sucks knowing there's people out there who can kick my ass." His eyes dart upwards in thought. "I guess what I'm trying to say is the part of me that thought I was the best got fucked up, so now I don't know what that leaves me with. Am I even THE Hyeonsu Lee if I'm just some guy who can get beat up?"

Slowly, you nod. "So your 'I'm the best!' thing got shattered and you don't feel like anyone without it?"

"I guess. Fuck if I know."

A feeling of pity ran through you at his confession, but you tried not to show it, knowing that would only make your friend mad. "Hm... do you have any plans on what to do about it?"

Hyeonsu shrugged. "Mind my own business more? I don't know. Can't walk around like I own the place now that the two times I've gotten my ass handed to me are both recorded and are online forever."

"Well... minding your own business more seems like a nice idea," you tried to say with encouragement.

Hyeonsu shrugged again, his expression still blank.

You forced a smile and changed the topic. Maybe it'd take off any embarrassment he was feeling. "See? Talking about your feelings wasn't so bad, right?"

You chuckle while Hyeonsu rolled his eyes. "Only 'cause it's you. But that does remind me of another thing."

"Yeah?" You lean in a little, amused when he backs off just as much with what appeared to be a somewhat embarrassed scowl.

"It's about you. Aren't you embarrassed to be friends with a guy who got his ass beat?"

For the second time, your jaw almost dropped but you managed to replace it instead with a breathy laugh. One that evolved into a small fit of giggles.

Hyeonsu slipped his forearm out from under your hand to cross his arms. "Oh, great. You're laughing."

"I-I'm sorry--" you try to reply between laughs, "It's just... wow, dude. This is the one thing you're ashamed of? Out of all things I could be embarrassed of being your friend for?"

You manage to dodge a slap from his hand on your arm while he snapped, "If you've got that many things to be embarrassed of, then why the hell are you my friend?"

Seeing his frustration made you attack back with comfort--in the form of a forehead flick. "Because I like you, you asshole."

He rubbed at his forehead until he registered your words and widened his eyes. Shock was written all over his face and you didn't realize what he was thinking until his cheeks began to turn slightly red.

"Oh. Oh my god. I didn't mean it like that." Suddenly, you felt as flustered as him, waving your hands around in an attempt to explain yourself. "I meant I like you because you're my friend!"

"...Right."

Was that... disappointment in his voice? You didn't give yourself time to mull over it, being still panicked by what you had just said, and continued on with, "If I didn't leave you for literally beating up people, why would I leave you because you got your ass beat? Do you think I was friends with you because you were strong? No, it's because you're fun to hang around!" Hyeonsu stared at you, his expression a pokerface and you tried to convince him with a joke, "What kind of person do you think I am, huh?"

Your smile grew strained as he broke eye contact. "So you don't care, huh?"

"Of course I don't care." You nodded for emphasis. "I'm just glad you made it out alive, especially with that creepy gangster guy. In fact, I want you to stop getting into stupid fights."

Hyeonsu's angry look quickly came back. "Hah, and do what? Start feeding stray dogs? Giving my seat up for old people? Pick up trash for fun?"

"That would be great, actually, but I'm not trying to turn you into a--" You hold up air quotes. "'Good person,' all I'm asking is you to pick your fights wisely." You gave him a cheeky smile. "I don't think you could even manage being a good person."

"Damn right." Finally, Hyeonsu laughed a little. After came a short, peaceful pause, but the silence is broken by him announcing, "Alright, I got it. You and I are still friends, and I'll tone down my attitude by a good 0.2 percent. I guess that way I can still be me."

Grinning, you take the chance to slap his arm back. "That's my man!"

"Ouch, fucker, that's the arm that got hurt."

"Oh, shit, sorry!" you quickly apologize, feeling bad until Hyeonsu burst into laughter.

"I'm kidding. You fell for such an easy trick."

You slapped him again, with a bit more force this time. "How am I supposed to know?! You're literally laying in a hospital bed!"

He just hummed in amusement before casually bringing up another conversation topic and you tagged along with a shake of your head. Before you both knew it, an hour had passed, and you figured it was time for you to head home.

"Besides, I promised a friend I was gonna study with them."

Hyeonsu waved you off. "Fine, go do your lame stuff."

Easily sensing the bitterness in his voice, you reach a hand out to pinch his cheek, lightly pulling on it. "Aw, you gonna miss me? Don't worry, I'll come back tomorrow!"

He grumbled and grabbed your wrist to stop your teasing. "If I see your stupid face tomorrow, I'm beating you up."

"Ooh, I'm so scared!" You pull away from his grip to hug yourself, pretending to shiver. When he held up a fist, you jumped back, laughing as you made your way to the exit of the room. "Okay, okay, I'm done!" You turned around to smile and wave. "See ya, Hyeonsu!"

His fist turned into a middle finger. "Bye, loser." You roll your eyes, about to turn again to leave until he said, "Also..." You look over your shoulder at him. "Thanks for sticking around." His cheeks flushed red as he muttered the words, and for a reason you weren't ready to confront, you felt your own cheeks warming up.

"You're very welcome." As you officially left the room, shutting the door behind you, you became painfully aware of how much your cheeks hurt from smiling and laughing. The warmth on your face only worsened as you recalled how much Hyeonsu was smiling and laughing with you, and then you thought about how he sounded a little disappointed when you said the two of you were just friends and--

"Nope, nope, nope, that's a problem for another day." You speedwalked down the hall, determined to make it home without bringing it up ever again.

Nonetheless, you were content to spend some good time with your best friend after making sure he was okay.

[bottlecaprabbitgames]

Coral Island anon here! So glad you are interested in it, it is heavily inspired by Stardew and it has so, SO much potentia🥺🥺

And yes, I bought Sun Haven and I'm seriously happy that you recommended it! I'm down with a fat cold rn and I played it all day yesterday, literally the perfect distraction. I got right into it from the beginning and I'm loving it so much. It feels a lot easier than Stardew because I'm not stressed out by the time and Energy I have (except for when I'm exploring and going far away from Sun Haven lmao, but that'll probably change later on-) and the fishing is actually something I can do now?? I never got it in Stardew, no matter how many Tutorials and Guides I watched and read, I was so bad at it I literally ended up using a mod cuz I just couldn't do it😭😭 But also the dragons look so cool?? I only met Elios so far but he looks AMAZING, so hyped to see the other(s)🥺

I can definitely see that!!! I like that it has a lot to do with the island itself, I think that'll really set it apart from other farming sims given most of them only have beach shores, but aren't on an actual island!!! I can definitely see the potential, too!!

God, I'm so so glad you're enjoying it!!! I'm sorry you're sick, but I'm glad you have Sun Haven to delve into while you recover! I also suffered from having so much stress due to racing against energy and time in Stardew, it is such a RELIEF to not deal with that really in Sun Haven, especially if you have longer days on! As for traveling further away from Sun Haven, I saw a sign mentioning a taxi service a few people talking about something similar to Stardew's staff that lets you teleport home, so I imagine once that's unlocked, it's super easy to go out exploring and get home quickly.

Stardew's fishing... see, I'm really good at the fishing system in Stardew. I have a save where I've caught all the legendaries, the octopus, all that. But just because you're good at something does not mean it's all that enjoyable, y'know? Like, I can do it, but I don't really enjoy doing so, especially as I've gotten older with joint issues. I very much like how we can just hit a space on a bar and bam! Fish! SO much simpler and also it's a LOT more accessible and all-kinds-of-players friendly.

ELIOS IS SO COOL!!! I agree 100%!!! The dragons look so neat!!! He's like a big lion... dragon... griffin thing and I love that! It's a very unique design. I also like the widdol dragon baby... himst so cute. Have you seen Anne's pet? He's super cute, too, heheh. Not really a dragon, but we can count him too, right? And the courier phoenix is so cool looking! Like, the designs and stuff in Sun Haven are so interesting! I can't wait to see what comes after Spring, and what the devs will add in later!

And AGAIN, I'm not shitting on Stardew Valley at all! Stardew is a phenomenal game, but I do think Sun Haven is extremely enjoyable. It's my newest obsession.

What race did you pick, btw? I started with a baker Naga, then made a rancher Human for when I play on stream, and I then made an explorer Elf for personal times, lol!